Pilgrimage to epirus monasteries & to nature

A PILGRIMAGE TO EPIRUS MONASTERIES & NATURE

MONASTERIES AT THE LAKE PAMBOTIDA, METEORA, METSOVO, MONASTERY OF KIPINA, VALIA CALDA, ZAGAROCHORIA 14 DAYS TRIP

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Dear Traveller, Almos Travel was founded in Athens, Greece, in 1991 providing premium travel services.

Our associates are distinguished by their functional and technical expertise combined with their hands-on experience, thereby ensuring that you will receive the most effective and professional service. As experts in the travel services, we are involved in every stage from planning to materialize any request or demand.

Among all the services that we are offering, we are distinguished for our big network of archaeologists, historians but also experts in hiking, rafting etc. We believe that with us you we will go on an unforgettable pilgrimage to the Greek unknown monasteries of Northern Greece combined with activities that you will give you the privilege to know a totally different view of Greece.

All these 24 years of experience, we had one thing in our mind how to over exceed ourselves for client’s benefit. Each journey for us, is by definition monadic. At the end, what is common in all of them is that customer luxuriates strong memories.

That is what we are trying to achieve, through our travel experiences we set the stone of knowledge, of broadening our clients horizons.

There are many ways you can visit Greece. But with us, there’s far more to the journey than what you see, what you eat, what you do and where you stay!

Warm Regards, Tony Papanicolaou Managing Director of ALMOS TRAVEL, 99, 3rd September str., Athens, Phone: +30 210 8812587, +30 210 8818434 Fax: +30 210 8819187 Email: info@almos.gr & reservations@almos.gr www.almos.gr

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A PILGRIMAGE TO EPIRUS MONASTERIES & NATURE ALMOS TRAVEL ADVANTAGES o o o o o

Feel the magic of Lux travel experience in the way you need it Gain perspective of authentic memorable religious moments Enjoy a real unique bespoken journey Enjoy the personal touch of skillful Almos Travel representatives Enjoy privately guided tours from sophisticated guides o Partake in various Natural activities beyond imagination www.almos.gr

DAY 1, 2: IOANNINA & MONASTERIES AT THE LAKE OF PAMBOTIDA

The flight reaches the Airport of Athens and from there we take the next plane for our one hour trip to Ioannina. Ioannina is one of the 4 prefectures’ of Epirus. Epirus is a place that will take your breath away. The lofty Pindos mountain range, which comprises most of it, has for thousands of years been safeguarding civilizations and confounding invaders.

Bisecting the Pindos is the stunning 12km-long Vikos Gorge, now a national park filled with leafy forests, waterfalls and ice-cold mountain lakes, and surrounded by immaculate traditional stone-and-slate villages of the Zagorohoria.

This evening, join your Resident Tour Director and fellow guests for cocktails and a welcome dinner at the hotel.

Ioannina is surrounded by the lake Pambotida, the lake, with its still waters and its small island, is a natural monument, around which the entire area lives and breathes. The strong cultural traditions of the town, home to a number of great novelists and poets, and the artistic and intellectual events which are organized throughout the year, give visitors the opportunity to get to know the roots of the intellectual life of Epirus.

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A walk through the city has the feel of a bygone era, full of secret places and legends still living. Wonderful buildings like the House Matei Hussein, the Ottoman mosque of Veli Pasha and the entire historic center of the town are unique attractions.

Ioannina was always multicultural, dominated mainly by Christian, Islamic and Jewish influences. This coexistence of cultural influences is clearly evident in the historic city center. The Stoa Louli arcade is one of the locations where the three communities worked together and prospered. The arcade was originally an inn and then became a mercantile exchange of great importance throughout the whole of Epirus.

From Ioannina we take the boat and we visit the small inhabited island and its numerous monasteries. Agios Panteleimonoas, the famed ruler Ali Pasha met his fate in 1822. He was beheaded in the lower level of the monastery as he awaited the sultan’s pardon in vain.

Agios Nikolaos Philanthropinon, this monastery features some interesting

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wall frescoes of various saints but also includes paintings of a few ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle.

The monastery of Agiou Nikolaou Stratigopoulou or Ntiliou. That monastery was built in 13th century by a noble family from Byzantine.

Then, we visit the monasteries of Eleousis, Metamorfosis Sotiros, Profiti Ilia, and Agiou John Prodromou.

Athens – Ioannina, Aegean Airways possible 2 flights one in the morning: 8:50 am – 9:55 am or 20:20 pm – 21:20 pm. Duration 1 hour

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DAY 3, 4: METEORA

Medieval monasteries in Greece at Meteora--the name means "suspended in midair"--on prongs of rock towering hundreds of feet above the plain of Thessaly. Meteora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is made up of a network of Greek Orthodox Christian monasteries perched atop a complex of 1000 sandstone boulders, each soaring to 400 meters. As you approach, you’ll feel Meteora’s mystical aura, and from afar these huge brown boulders look like giant monks huddled in congregation – a rather fitting image for the second most important monastic site in Orthodox Christianity. This unique geological formation is 50 million years old and was created when a great earthquake drained the lake that once stood in Meteora’s place. As the terrain reshaped itself, the silt, rocks and sand that lined www.almos.gr

the depths of the lake took the form of the huge boulders we see today. From the historical evidence, monasteries of Meteora were thirty in total. Of these thirty monasteries six are in operation today and receive many pilgrims. There are also many smaller monasteries abandoned. Most of them were founded in the 14th century. We are going to visit the Monasteries, Varlaam, Roussanou, Megalou Meteorou, Agiou Nikolaou Anapafsa, Agia Triada and Agiou Stefanou. Each one hides treasures that span the ages and which will leave you with a deeper appreciation of religious art, monastic life and spiritual scholarship.

Ioannina – Meteora = 107km= 1 hour & 30 min.

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DAY 5, 6: METSOVO

Metsovo is a picturesque town situated in the slopes of mountain Pindos in Epirus. The small town stands at an altitude of 1156 m and is surrounded by beautiful nature and lush vegetation. Metsovo is a very popular destination in Greece as it is a place that has kept its character over the years with traditional stone and wooden houses. It offers visitors a variety of activities all year round. Here the things that are worthy to see in Metsovo. o Admire art at the Averoff museum. o Walk around the village Explore the village on foot, walk in the stone alleyways and admire the traditional architecture of the houses and the views of mount Pindos

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o Go shopping Apart from the good wines from the local winery Metsovo is also famous for its dairy products and especially a cheese called metsovone that has a smoked flavor and is very delicious. You can also buy the traditional home-made pasta called hylopites, woodcarved objects and textiles. o Take a tour of Katogi Averoff winery Located at the center of Metsovo, Katogi Averoff winery makes some of Greece’s most celebrated wines. You will have the chance to learn about the history of the winery and the wine making process. At the end you can even sample some wines and take some home with you.  Visit the artificial lake of Aoos springs Just 20 km away from Metsovo you will find the artificial lake of Aoos springs. The lake stands at an altitude of 1343m and is an important hydrobiotope.

Meteora – Metsovo = 61 km, 1 hour www.almos.gr

DAY 7: Monastery of Kipina - Kalarytes

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Dedicated to the Assumption of the Theotokos, it is located near the village of Kalarytes, built on a rocky stiff cliff, over Kalarytikos river. The name “Kipina» was given, according to one version, because of the gardens cultivated by the monks. Access to the monastery, which is open to visitors, is provided via a small path, carved into the rock and continues with a wooden bridge, which leads to the outbuildings of the monastery.

Tradition has it that the monastery was founded in the late Byzantine period.

The catholicon of the monastery is inside a natural small cave, the rock of which was suitably carved and constitutes its dome. It is a single-aisle basilica of small dimensions with a narthex.

The interior is decorated with wall paintings dating back to the late 17th century – beginning of the 18th century. The wall paintings are distinguished for the interesting iconographic sequence with the beautiful representations and the variety of colors.

The iconostasis is carved and gilded. The cells with wooden extensions on the vertical rock create an exceptional architectural complex fully harmonized with the wild landscape.

Metsovo – Kalarytes = 86km, 2 hours

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DAY 8, 9, 10: Valia Calda- National Forest of Pindos – Natural Activities beyond imagination

We leave the beautiful Papingo and we arrive to the area Perivoli. Here starts our natural activities. The landscape is impressive and apart from the variety of morphological and vegetation characteristics, even highlighted by huge cliffs and rushing streams. The environment is very important for the life of a huge variety of species from the animal and plant kingdoms. The whole area is perhaps the most important habitat in our country for the brown bear.

The Forest of Pindos as a general statement of Greek and foreign experts, only characterized by biological, ecological and scientific interest. It combines the aesthetic landscape of great value, the habitat with great diversity of flora and fauna, diverse geomorphological composition, sensibility and uniqueness at national and European level.

The value of the area of Valia – Calda and the need for protection has been recognized not only by the declaration of your National Park from 1966, but also at European level with the integration of the network of especially the European Community Protected Areas.

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RAFTING: One of the activities that you can enjoy is rafting to the easy clean waters of the river Venetiko. Our rafting is around 2 hours and during our water excursion we pass through four stone bridges.

HIKING: Routes in the core of the park - Arkoudorema - the Falls - on "Lakes Flega".

MOUNTAIN BIKING: In beautiful forest roads of Pindos.

CULINARY LESSON: The cuisine in Epirus is famous for its handmade pies, there a local chef will teach us how to make them.

Kalarytes 窶天alia Calda = 163km, 3 hours

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DAY 11, 12, 13: ZAGOROCHORIA, IERA MONI AGIAS PARASKEVIS, A UNIQUE HIKING EXPERIENCE

Travel to Zagorohoria, it is a region in the mount of Epirus, Pindus containing of 46 small picturesque villages. Arrive in Monodendri and settle into the hotel. The most-used path down to the gorge begins beside the Agios Athanasios church in Monodendri; a sign promises fairly accurate walking times of four-and-a-half hours to Vikos village. Once past Monodendri’s municipal amphitheater, the path is cobbled for most of the forty minutes www.almos.gr

down to the riverbed, whose stony course you follow for another few minutes before shifting up the west (true left) bank, reaching the best viewpoint at a saddle ninety minutes from the village.

The entire route is waymarked, sometimes faintly, by red-paint dots and white-on-red stenciled metal diamonds with the legend “O3”. About two hours out of Monodendri you draw even with the Megas Lakkos ravine, the only major breach in the east wall of the gorge; a spring here has been piped to make it more usable in summer. As the gorge widens you must make a choice.

Continuing straight, the best-defined path takes you past the side trail to beautifully set eighteenth-century Kímisis Theotokou chapel (unlocked; excellent frescoes well worth the 15min round-trip detour). Beyond here, the route becomes a well-paved road, climbing up and left to Vikos, four-plus hours from Monodendri and also accessible by a 5km paved road from Arísti.

From Monodendri, we start our journey and we visit Iera Moni Panagias Vellas at Kalpaki.

Next day we find ourselves to Papingo. Papingo villages, crossing the gorge bed at the Voïdhomatis springs, some three-and-a-half hours from Monodhéndhri. It’s about two hours’ walk from the springs up to Mikro Papingo, slightly less to Megalo, with the divide in the trail nearly ninety minutes above the riverbed crossing. After an initial steep climb, there’s a fine view down into the gorge near some weathered, tooth-like pinnacles, before the trail traverses a stable rockslide to the fork. Should you be reversing this route, www.almos.gr

the path-start in Mikro Papingo village is signposted bilingually, and marked by a fancy stone archway in Megalo Papingo.

Valia Calda – Zagorohoria = 120km, 2 hours & 30 min.

Zagorohoria – Ioannina = 38km, 50 min

DAY 14: Depart Athens Next day we leave from Ioannina with our flight to Athens and from there you board your homebound international flight.

Aegean Airways, 2 possible flights per day, 10:20am -11:20am or 21:45pm-22:45pm.One hour flight.

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