Day 107: Vikos Gorge

45 minutes north of Ioannina is Vikos Gorge, the deepest gorge in the world. Accessing the gorge is complicated as the bus only comes every two weeks, you can hitch hike, pay too much for a cab, or bring two cars. We perfectly timed our arrival to Ioannina to catch the 5:30am bus that only comes every two weeks. Mikayla, Kieran, and I successfully wake up at 4:30 am and make the 5:30 am bus.

You have three options to hike the gorge: north to south, south to north, and hike a scenic overlook. We wanted to hike south to north, but got lost in conversation and missed the stop. Scenic overlook it is!

We had a wonderful time climbing old monastery steps and viewing the moon/sunrise across the valley. We ran into a starving stray dog in a little village and it was so sweet we gave him ham. Thus, Ham Dog became our tour guide and walked us to the scenic viewpoint. We were the only three at the gorge, which turned into Mikayla meditating for an hour and Kieran/Mary throwing rocks over the gorge and playing with Ham Dog. We make our way back to the village, grabbed a coffee, and said goodbye to Ham Dog.

After hiking for 4 hours, we took a bus and ferry to get to Corfu. Long and amazing day with Mikayla, who was super cool. She speaks German, English, Dutch, French, Russian, and is learning Arabic for her Moroccan partner. We absolutely loved our day and wish her all the best!

Restaurants: Μέθεξις Ιδεών της Τασίας

Food:
Greek Salad
Feta Stuffed Peppers
Pork Kebab

Spots:
Vikos Gorge
Vradeto Steps
KoukouliRead more