Mount Tymfi is a limestone mountain in the Zagori area of Epirus, in north-western Greece, about 60 kilometres from the city of Ioannina. Its highest peak, Gamila, reaches 2,497 metres. The upper part of the mountain is a bare plateau with high cliffs on its northern and western sides, and the Vikos Gorge runs along its south-western edge. Most visitors come to walk. A marked path climbs from the villages of Papingo to a mountain refuge at 1,950 metres, and from there to Drakolimni, a small lake where alpine newts live. The stone villages of Zagori stand around the foot of the mountain. Snow covers the heights from autumn until late spring, so the walking season runs from about May to October. Tymfi is part of the Vikos–Aoos National Park.
Geography
Mount Tymfi is a limestone massif in the northern Pindus range, in the Zagori area of Epirus. It measures about 20 to 25 kilometres from east to west and about 15 from north to south. Its highest peak is Gamila, at 2,497 metres. Several other peaks pass 2,400 metres, among them Astraka (2,436 m), which stands above the two villages of Papingo.
Two gorges border the mountain. The Voidomatis River cuts the Vikos Gorge along its south-western side, and the Aoos River flows through a second gorge on the northern side, where the cliffs of Tymfi drop about 400 metres. Mount Smolikas rises on the other side of the Aoos.
Between the peaks lies a high plateau at about 2,000 metres. Glaciers covered it in the last ice age and left moraines, bare limestone pavements and the small lake of Drakolimni. Rainwater does not stay on the surface here. It sinks into the limestone through vertical shafts, and two of them, Provatina and Epos, go down more than 400 metres.
Activities
Most walkers climb Tymfi from the village of Mikro Papingo, on the western side. A marked path of about six kilometres climbs 1,000 metres to the Astraka refuge, which stands at 1,950 metres on a pass below the peak of Astraka. The path is part of the national trail O3. It takes about three hours and is steep for most of its length.
From the refuge, the path to Drakolimni crosses the plateau and reaches the lake in about an hour and a half. Fit walkers return to the village the same day; others sleep at the refuge. The summit of Gamila is about six kilometres beyond the refuge. The peak of Astraka takes about two and a half hours, with some scrambling.
Longer paths reach the plateau from the villages of Vradeto, Tsepelovo and Vrysochori and from the town of Konitsa. They have fewer waymarks and suit experienced walkers. The rock faces of Astraka, Gamila and Tsouka Rossa have long mountaineering routes. The fixed gear on them is old, so they are for experienced climbers only.
Nature & Outdoors
Drakolimni, the Dragon Lake, lies at about 2,050 metres on the plateau, near the peak of Ploskos. It is a small lake left by the glaciers, about five metres deep, with grass all around it. Alpine newts live in the water. They are small amphibians with an orange belly, and local stories turned them into dragons. One tale says that the dragon of this lake threw rocks at the dragon of the lake on Mount Smolikas. Swimming is not allowed, because it harms the newts.
Balkan chamois live on the cliffs of Tymfi, and their population here is among the largest counted in Greece. Golden eagles live on the mountain all year. In summer, horses and cattle graze freely on the plateau. Most of Tymfi belongs to the Vikos–Aoos National Park, created in 1973. It is also part of a geopark, which presents Drakolimni, the Provatina shaft and the glacial deposits near the village of Tsepelovo as sites of geological interest.
Villages & Inland
The villages around Tymfi belong to Zagori, an area of stone houses with slate roofs that UNESCO listed as a cultural landscape in 2023.
The western side
Papingo is two villages, Megalo and Mikro Papingo, at about 950 metres, below the rock towers of Astraka. Between them, a stream has cut pools into the limestone, and people swim there in summer.
The southern side
Tsepelovo is one of the larger villages of Zagori, with stone mansions and a church painted in the 18th century. Skamneli is four kilometres further along the same road. Vradeto, at 1,340 metres, is the highest village of Zagori. Until a road was built in the 1970s, people reached it by the Skala, a stone stairway of about a thousand steps that still climbs from the village of Kapesovo. A short walk from Vradeto leads to Beloi, a viewpoint over the Vikos Gorge.
The eastern side
Vrysochori stands at about 1,150 metres among conifer forests, above the valley of the Aoos River. From the village of Iliochori, a path leads to the three waterfalls of Balta di Striga. The tallest drops more than 25 metres.
Practical information
Getting there
The usual starting point is Mikro Papingo, on the western side of the mountain. The drive from the city of Ioannina to the two villages of Papingo takes about an hour and a quarter. For the southern side, drive to the village of Tsepelovo, about 50 kilometres from Ioannina, and on to Skamneli or Vradeto. The eastern village of Vrysochori is about 75 kilometres from Ioannina. Ioannina has the nearest airport.
Getting around
No road goes up to the plateau. The refuge, Drakolimni and the peaks are reached only on foot. The villages on the western, southern and eastern sides are linked by roads that go round the mountain, so choose the side you will walk from before you book a room. If you walk across the mountain from one village to another, arrange a taxi back before you set off.
When to go
The walking season is from about May to October, the months when the refuge is usually open. Snow lies on the high ground from autumn until late May. In July and August the climb from Mikro Papingo is hot and has little shade, so start early in the morning. In spring the slopes are full of wildflowers. In winter the mountain is only for people with winter mountaineering equipment and experience.
Good to know
Book a bed at the Astraka refuge before you go. It has about 50 beds and serves meals, and it provides blankets, so bring only a sheet sleeping bag. Carry enough water for the whole climb from Mikro Papingo: there are four springs on the path, but they can be dry. Swimming in Drakolimni is not allowed. For a winter visit, ask the refuge first, because it opens then only by arrangement.
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