The Astraka towers
A white limestone wall rising directly behind the village houses.
**Free** — two open villages. ⚠ **You need a car**: about 60 km from Ioannina, and the final road is **very narrow with sharp bends**, climbing steeply — drive slowly, and avoid it at night and in snow. ⚠ **⚠ You must book ahead**: guesthouses are very few and fill at weekends, on holidays **and in winter too** — do not arrive without a booking. ⚠ **Prices are higher** than the rural Greek average. ⚠ **Kolymbithres**: a 20-minute walk on a rocky path, and **the pools are deep and the water very cold** — **no lifeguard and no railings**; do not jump in (depths vary and there is rock below the surface), and watch children. ⚠ **⚠ The Astraka and Drakolimni route is serious mountain walking**: **6–8 hours** there and back with over 1,000 m of ascent — for equipped walkers only, and check the weather. ⚠ **Very cold at night** even in July. ⚠ **Phone coverage is poor** in the mountains.
💬 Ask on WhatsAppOpen in Google Maps ↗**Two stone villages beneath an enormous rock wall** — **Megalo Papingo** and **Mikro Papingo**, in the far north of Zagori, and the finest thing in the region. What makes them exceptional is **the backdrop**: the **Astraka towers**, a wall of white limestone rising hundreds of metres directly behind the houses — under which the village looks very small indeed. The houses here are **entirely stone** with slab roofs, and some have become **guesthouses** with wood fires — this is a **winter destination** for Greeks as much as a summer one. Near **Mikro Papingo** are the **Kolymbithres**: a series of **natural rock pools** carved by water in the riverbed, filling with cold clear water that people swim in — a twenty-minute walk from the village. ✅ From here begins the climb to the **Astraka refuge** and **Drakolimni** — the best-known mountain walk in Greece. ✅ And above the village is the **Beloi viewpoint** over the Vikos gorge.
A white limestone wall rising directly behind the village houses.
Natural rock pools of cold clear water in the riverbed.
A northern outlook over the narrowest reach of the Vikos gorge.
Papingo, Zagori, 44016 Ioannina, Greece
**A mountain lake at about 2,050 m, and reaching it is a serious walk rather than a stroll.** ✅ **What it is**: **Drakolimni** («dragon lake») is a small glacial lake on a high plateau in the **Tymfi** massif above Papingo. Its name comes from a local legend of two dragons that fought between this lake and another nearby. **Alpine newts** (black amphibians) live in it — most likely the origin of the «dragon» story. ✅ **Getting there**: climb from **Mikro Papingo** to the **Astraka refuge** (about 3 hours, over 1,000 m of ascent), then a further **45 minutes** to the lake. **Six to eight hours there and back.** ⚠ **This is not an easy route**: sustained climbing over rock, **poor phone coverage**, and **weather that changes fast** at altitude. ✅ **It can be split**: **stay overnight at the Astraka refuge** (seasonal, **and you must book**) and finish in the morning — far better and considerably safer. ⚠ **Its season** is late June to October; outside that there is snow.
**Papingo for the mountain, Monodendri for the gorge — and the difference is real.** ✅ **Papingo**: unquestionably the finer setting — the **Astraka towers** directly behind you, the **Kolymbithres** a walk away, the **Beloi viewpoint** above, and the **Drakolimni route** starting at your door. Its guesthouses are the prettiest and warmest (wood fires) and it is a **genuine winter destination**. ⚠ Its drawbacks: **the furthest** (60 km from Ioannina on a hard road), **the dearest**, **the fewest options**, and it **fills fastest**. ✅ **Monodendri**: closer to Ioannina (40 km) and **directly on the Vikos rim**, so the **Agia Paraskevi monastery**, the **Oxya viewpoint** and the **gorge route's start** are all there; slightly more choice and lower prices. ⚠ Its setting is less dramatic than Papingo's. ✅ **The rule**: one night → Monodendri. **Two or more → Papingo**, with Monodendri as a day visit. ⚠ **Either way: book.**
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet — be the first.