For centuries, dozens of stone-built communities have been linked by a series of cobblestone paths and rock-hewn bridges. Now, travellers can embark on these time-worn trails.
According to Polyxeni Mantzou, a professor of architecture at the University of Ioannina, the fact that these paths, bridges and homes were designed to embrace nature rather than control it has allowed them to survive for centuries with relatively little maintenance.
According to Mantzou, travellers started trickling into the region roughly 20 years ago and have helped revive it. But in recent years, another group of visitors have started arriving that Matzou believes is just as important to preserving these unique communities: international experts who are coming to study Zagori’s unique biodiversity, sustainable architecture and climate adaptation.