Wednesday 8th May 2024 – Ioannina, Greece

One of the reasons for visiting Megalo Papigko was to take the circular walk to Mikro Papigko. I found the route on Komoot and it suggested that walk was ‘easy’ rather than any walk into the Vikos Gorge that were all marked as ‘expert’ with the additional issue of getting back to the starting point without any public transport. An ‘easy’ walk seemed suitable for our abilities.
Descending from Megalo Papigko we came to the stream between the two villages. Unfortunately, Jane had decided to wear sensible shoes rather than walking boots. Even though I was wearing boots, I couldn’t get Jane across without her getting wet feet. I suspect that the water was a little higher than it would be in the summer and crossing then probably wouldn’t be a problem. We then climbed steadily in zig-zags up towards Mikro Papigko. The wildflowers at this time of year are stunning and butterflies were everywhere. There was lots of evidence of wild boar – large areas of disturbed ground – but we didn’t see the animals themselves.
Mikro Papigko is less developed than Megalo Papigko without the number of restaurants, cafés and hotels but we did find a nice café with a stupendous view of the cliffs that formed the backdrop to the village. Small natural caves with stalactites and stalagmites littered the vertical rock.
The route from Mikro Papigko follows the road to the Rogovo pools, a natural series of pools scoured out of the limestone by a stream. This was a popular area today but is even more popular in summer when the pools, augmented by man-made weirs, provide excellent opportunities for bathing. The path then took us off the road onto a mule track and back into Megalo Papigko.
We had a good meal in the village before heading back to the Ioannina campsite, drinking in those lovely views all the way.
Photos: One of the many butterflies that we saw on the walk; Rogovo pools; The geology is interesting in these mountains with ‘plated limestone’ everywhere – the stone is ideal for construction, with the thinner slabs suitable for roof tiles and the thicker pieces for the structure of the buildings and all without the need to split it.