YES!
I've been sitting at my desk looking at a photo taken of me with two Dutch travellers and our driver at the edge ( the very edge) of the Vikos Gorge in the North-west province of Epiros, Greece. And wishing I was back there...
That particular day was one of those "some days are diamonds" things. I was staying in the Greek Riviera town of Parga and the tour I had booked for had been cancelled due to bus breakdown. However the nice tour company decided to put on alternative transport, and ours was a driver and car. Consequently we were not tied to the tour itinerary and our driver opted to show us the very best places. Our destination was the Zagoria, sometimes called the Zagorohoria - the mountain hamlets of the Pindos Range, and the stunning Vikos Gorge which is the deepest gorge in the world.
Our journey started along the wonderful new motorway called Egnatia, most of which is hacked out of the very mountains themselves and is a roller coaster ride through tunnels and over stunning viaducts. The secondary road took us up, up and up onto the top of the world to a picture perfect little grey stone town called Monodendrio, where we walked to a very old tiny monastery where the gorge began.
Well! Views to die for! There I stood with nothing for a backdrop except sheer craggy walls of rock. Down below was - well, it was so deep it was hard to tell. Awesome. There was a track about two feet wide along the cliff face with the nothing-drop on the right, and I ventured along it, mesmerised by the stupendous vistas but tremulous with the sheer magnitude of the panorama. They had to drag me away!
That was just the start of that lovely day!
Yes - I'm now planning my return this year. Coming?
Contact me at helen@greekpixandwords.com and let me help you plan your trip!
