"EVERY DAY WE LOOK at these mountains," Spiros Tsoumanis tells me from the terrace of Astra Inn, his restaurant and guesthouse in Papingo, a tiny village in the Epirus region of northwestern Greece. "And it's like looking at them for the first time." It's dusk, and behind him the ridge of the range looms skyward, its jagged peaks catching and reflecting the light. Bundled up against the cold, thin air, we watch as the rock face turns a brilliant purple-red and then deepens to a velvety black.
I first discovered this pocket of the country seven years ago, while traveling around with my then-partner, who is Greek. We ventured into Zagorohoria, a rugged part of Epirus in the Pindus Mountains known for its cluster of 46 traditional stone villages, and wandered among them, hiking over vaulted stone bridges and snacking on lamb chops in modest tavernas. The relationship ended, but my love affair with the area continued. Last December, I decided to return to Epirus on my own this time.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveler US.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Condé Nast Traveler US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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The Slow Road - Rather than rush from Tokyo to Kyoto by train, as most visitors to Japan do, Tom Vanderbilt chose to bike - coasting down country roads, spying snow monkeys, and refueling with hearty bowls of soba
Rather than rush from Tokyo to Kyoto by train, as most visitors to Japan do, Tom Vanderbilt chose to bike - coasting down country roads, spying snow monkeys, and refueling with hearty bowls of soba. At the peak of the day's heat, I pulled into the tiny hamlet of Hirase, in Japan's Gifu Prefecture. I'd just climbed a twisting, waterfall-lined road several thousand feet through Hakusan National Park before descending into the shimmering fantasy landscape of Shirakawa-go, an almost Tolkien-esque village (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) comprising centuries-old farmhouses with peaked thatch roofs.
SHAILENE WOODLEY on FIJI
I was in Suva, the capital of Fiji, making a film, and our crew took over half of the Grand Pacific Hotel.
easy does it
Beyond the bubble of Queenstown, New Zealand's majestic Otago region offers the kinds of adventures you can truly appreciate only by slowing down
gather round
The secret ingredient in Philadelphia's lauded food scene? The empathy of the locals behind it
SANDS OF TIME
Sculpted by millennia, Chad is a place of ancient geology and epic grandeur. Aminatta Forna finds her place in it all
THE PAST IS PRESENT
Beguilingly complex Istanbul has done a lot of soul-searching in recent years. Lale Arikoglu digs into the city's modern identity - while tracing the roots of her own
Creation Story
Modern-day craftspeople are bringing back traditional Arabian arts in Jeddah's Old Town of Al-Balad
Continental Drift
For her first trip to Africa, aboard an HX Hurtigruten cruise ship, Sarah Greaves Gabbadon confronts her assumptions about what a homeland means
On the Rise
With new hotels, climbing routes, and biking trails, Colorado's low-key, high-elevation Western Slope is ripe for adventure
Antiques Road Show
After buying a second home, in France, the designer Claire Vivier called up fellow designer Kate Berry to go on the ultimate shopping spree
