Epirus overview

Etymology of the name

The Greek name Epirus signifies "mainland" or "continent", to distinguish it from the Ionian islands off the Epirote coast. It was originally applied to the whole coast south to the Corinthian Gulf.

Photography by Huub Meyer

Geography and ecology

Epirus is a rugged and mountainous region. It is largely made up of mountainous limestone ridges, part of the Dinaric Alps, that in places reach 2,650 m. In the east, the Pindus Mountains that form the spine of mainland Greece separate Epirus from Macedonia and Thessaly. Most of Epirus lies on the windward side of the Pindus. The winds from the Ionian Sea offer the region more rainfall than any other part of Greece.The climate of Epirus is mainly alpine. The vegetation is made up mainly of coniferous species. The animal life is especially rich in this area and features, among other species, bears, wolves, foxes, deer and lynxes.

Zagori

is an area in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwest Greece. It has an area of some 1,000 square kilometers and 45 villages known as Zagoria or the Zagorohoria, and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral triangle. The southern vertex of the triangle is the provincial capital, Yiannina (Ioannina); the south-southwest side is formed by the mountain Mitsikeli (1,810m); the Aoos river and Mt Tymphe constitute the northern side, and the east-southeast side runs along the Varda river to Mt Mavrovouni (2,100m) near Metsovo.

According to the most recent figures, the population of the area is about 5,000, which gives a population density of 5 inhabitants per square kilometer, as opposed to an average of 73.8 for Greece as a whole.

The Vikos Gorge

One of the gorges of Zagori located in the Vikos-Aoos National Park, stands out from all the others for its dimensions and for its awe-inspiring beauty. The gorge collects the waters of a number of small rivers and leads them into the Voidomatis which rises in the Gorge.

The Vikos Gorge is one of the deepest gorges in the world, second only to the Grand Canyon in Arizona. In fact, the walls of the Vikos gorge, at about 1.040 m (3,120 ft) at places, are the steepest anywhere. As a natural phenomenon, it has to be seen to be believed. Over and above its grandeur, however, the Vikos Gorge is of a major scientific interest because it is in almost virgin condition and its ecosystems are many and various. This is one of the reasons for which it forms the heart of the Vikos-Aoos National Park, which is a refuge for many endangered species of animal.
Despite the undoubted passage of the Slavs as testified to by numerous placenames changes in the human element in Zagori have come about exceptionally slowly, and to talk of real continuity of population is no exaggeration.