Zagorohoria
Zagorohoria

Summary/Abstract: Greece’s most striking landscapes, it may well be argued, are to be found in the mountain fastnesses of Epiros, far in the country’s northwest; here is the fabled Zagorohoria, a group of 46 mountain hamlets attesting to the legacy of a spirited people determined to remain free and cling to their customs over the long centuries of Ottoman rule in Greece. Although most of the villages are sparsely populated now, with the few lingering locals making a living from tourism, they hold onto their magic and their secrets well; since the traditional Zagori architecture is hewn of stone, the centuries-old bridges, mansion houses and churches have all been built to last. The Zagorohoria’s unique name comes from the fusion of the old Slavonic za Gora (‘behind the mountain’), and the Greek word for villages (horia). The sprawling area lies in the north of the province of Epiros. The mixed tradition of the region also means that a notable part of the population has Vlach roots; indeed, you can still find the occasional nomadic Vlach shepherd bringing his sheep up and down from the mountains’s high places and meadows in time with the changing seasons. Most visitors to Zagorohoria, foreigners especially, are firstly looking to ‘get away from it all,’ amidst the tranquility and astonishingly fresh air of the Pindos Mountains’ Vikos-Aoos National Park.

• Details
• Contents