It’s rare, impressive and strange. It’s in Zagori and is yet another reason to visit this magical place. It’s the stone forest that is right after Monodendri, in the direction of Oxia, where you can see the Vikos gorge. Leaving the beautiful settlement behind, the road stretches between these rare geological formations that become increasingly denser. At one point, these unique rocks surround the road and it’s worth stopping to walk among them and feel like you’re part of the constant process that makes our planet so special.

10

Thousands of years ago

The huge rock formations appear as if someone has placed one slate onto the next in order to create a tower. This forest of stone towers spreads inside another gorgeous forest of oaks and maple trees. The stone towers came to be as a result of the constant corrosion of the slates, a process that started thousands of years ago and today we have this unique opportunity to admire this natural creation.

The natural sculptures

It’s a one-of-a-kind experience to walk among the rocks, especially taking into account the thousands of years it took to create these natural sculptures. Returning to the car, you’ll realise that the road ends a bit further down. Park your car and walk on the cobbled path that leads to Oxia, one of the locations with the best view of the Vikos gorge, that is the deepest gorge in the world in proportion to its length, width and depth. It’s length is 11 km, while its depth at some points is over 1 km.

In Ovires, Papingo

In Papingo, stop at “Sterna” and try the sweets that Elli Papageorgiou makes, while enjoying the beautiful décor. In the direction of Mikro Papingo, at about 1 km from the village, there’s a very short path that leads to Ovires, Rogovou. It’s a stunning place that consists of a network of small lakes created when the water of the ravine that starts at Tymfi lake got trapped in the small basins on the rocks. Walk carefully on the rocks and prepare for the surprises that keep coming.

		array(1) {
  [0]=>
  array(3) {
    ["file"]=>
    array(24) {
      ["ID"]=>
      int(73276)
      ["id"]=>
      int(73276)
      ["title"]=>
      string(40) "ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ 01"
      ["filename"]=>
      string(51) "ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ-ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ-01-scaled.jpg"
      ["filesize"]=>
      int(1173435)
      ["url"]=>
      string(100) "https://www.travel.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ-ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ-01-scaled.jpg"
      ["link"]=>
      string(49) "https://www.travel.gr/en/papigko-kolymvithres-01/"
      ["alt"]=>
      string(0) ""
      ["author"]=>
      string(1) "9"
      ["description"]=>
      string(94) "It’s a stunning place that consists of a network of small lakes /Photo: Alexandros Avramidis"
      ["caption"]=>
      string(0) ""
      ["name"]=>
      string(23) "papigko-kolymvithres-01"
      ["status"]=>
      string(7) "inherit"
      ["uploaded_to"]=>
      int(0)
      ["date"]=>
      string(19) "2022-02-18 11:04:39"
      ["modified"]=>
      string(19) "2022-02-28 09:14:42"
      ["menu_order"]=>
      int(0)
      ["mime_type"]=>
      string(10) "image/jpeg"
      ["type"]=>
      string(5) "image"
      ["subtype"]=>
      string(4) "jpeg"
      ["icon"]=>
      string(58) "https://www.travel.gr/wp-includes/images/media/default.png"
      ["width"]=>
      int(1709)
      ["height"]=>
      int(2560)
      ["sizes"]=>
      array(18) {
        ["thumbnail"]=>
        string(101) "https://www.travel.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ-ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ-01-150x150.jpg"
        ["thumbnail-width"]=>
        int(150)
        ["thumbnail-height"]=>
        int(150)
        ["medium"]=>
        string(101) "https://www.travel.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ-ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ-01-200x300.jpg"
        ["medium-width"]=>
        int(200)
        ["medium-height"]=>
        int(300)
        ["medium_large"]=>
        string(102) "https://www.travel.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ-ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ-01-768x1150.jpg"
        ["medium_large-width"]=>
        int(768)
        ["medium_large-height"]=>
        int(1150)
        ["large"]=>
        string(102) "https://www.travel.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ-ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ-01-684x1024.jpg"
        ["large-width"]=>
        int(684)
        ["large-height"]=>
        int(1024)
        ["1536x1536"]=>
        string(103) "https://www.travel.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ-ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ-01-1025x1536.jpg"
        ["1536x1536-width"]=>
        int(1025)
        ["1536x1536-height"]=>
        int(1536)
        ["2048x2048"]=>
        string(103) "https://www.travel.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/ΠΑΠΙΓΚΟ-ΚΟΛΥΜΒΗΘΡΕΣ-01-1367x2048.jpg"
        ["2048x2048-width"]=>
        int(1367)
        ["2048x2048-height"]=>
        int(2048)
      }
    }
    ["desc"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["image_position"]=>
    string(6) "center"
  }
}
It’s a stunning place that consists of a network of small lakes /Photo: Alexandros Avramidis
In the direction of Mikro Papingo, at about 1 km from the village, there’s very short path that leads to Ovires, Rogovou. /Photo: Alexandros Avramidis

The rocky bed has turned into a natural sculpture with small waterfalls, different levels and no other human intervention except a small dam at the beginning of the route.

And all this inside a beautiful dense oak, beech, linden, maple, cornelian cherry, and hop hornbeam forest that is also home to a variety of rare flowers.

Read also:

Zagori nominated for UNESCO world cultural landscape status

A 1876 mansion in Epirus narrates a piece of Greek history

The guitarist that became a woodcarver in Zagori, Greece