Zagori Epirus

Day 2,818, 11:51 • Published in Greece Greece • by Aneta Ilieva

Zagori (Ζαγόρι), is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some 1,000 square kilometres and contains 45 villages known as Zagoria (or Zagorochoria or Zagorohoria), and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral triangle. The southern corner of the triangle contains the provincial capital, Ioannina, the south-western side is formed by Mount Mitsikeli (1,810m), and the Aoos river and Mount Tymfi constitute the northern side, and the south-eastern side runs along the Varda river to Mount Mavrovouni (2,100m) near Metsovo. The population of the area is about 3,700, which gives a population density of 4 inhabitants per square kilometre, compared to an average of 73.8 for Greece as a whole.
Zagori is an area of great natural beauty, with striking geology and two national parks, one including the river Aoos and the Vikos Gorge, the other around Valia Kalda, to the east of the imposing snow-capped Mt Tymphe. The 45 or so villages of Zagori were interconnected by mountain roads and traditional arched stone bridges until modern roads were opened in the 1950s. The stone arched bridges were built by benefactions from expatriate merchants in the 18th century and replaced older wooden bridges.