Hiking Zagori & Meteora

This is a really very nice trek, and we have been very lucky with the professional and kindly guides. Greek people is very friendly, and we have been fortunate to share with them home, food, landscape and such nice things. The trip is very rich because is very variate, the impressive Vikos gorg, the nice small towns of Vradeto or Beloki, the refugee in Astraka and the blue Dragonlimmi and at the end the astonishing landscape sharped by mounts and monasteries in Meteora. Great value !! Don’t miss it !!!

It was great: the country, the people,the food …everything!!! The guides were marvelous; they did our trip especial and we enjoyed a lot.

Ha sido un trekking espectacular. Me han gustado mucho la montaña y sus paisajes, los puentes de piedra y los monasterios tanto en Zagoria como en Meteora. Hemos tenido muy buenos guias que han sabido adecuar los itinerarios en función de la climatología, ya que dos días nos llovió mucho. La comida también me ha gustado. En general me llevo muy buen recuerdo de este viaje.

En la zona de Zagori hemos visto bellisimos paisajes y remotos lugares poco frecuentados. Hemos estado en hoteles familiares muy tranquilos y muy acogedores. La comida griega buenisima y abundante, pero lo mejor de todo nuestros guías por su profesionalidad, amabilidad y entusiasmo. Volveré.

Nos ha encantado todo, tanto los paisajes, los hoteles, la comida y los guías, muy preocupados en todo momento porque estuviéramos bien.
Es un trekking muy agradable, con unos paisajes preciosos y muy cómodo.
Nos hemos quedado con ganas de volver

What s fantastic trek with very experienced and highly capable guides who made every effort to maximise our experiences of all the geographical wonders of the region by adjusting the itinerary when rain was likely. Danae and Stavros, our guide were brilliant, the food and inns we stayed at were delicious and charming and the views were spectacular. Great value for money and a tour company I would definitely travel with again and recommend to others. The group I travelled with were fantastic, easy going and wonderful people- an added bonus!!!!

Si quieres hacer trekking, descubrir paisajes y pueblos preciosos, conocer gente maravillosa, y disfrutar de la comida…sin duda Zagoria y Meteora es el lugar ideal. La organización excelente gracias a Danae y Stavros.

Subscribo la descripción hecha por Marcos: precisa, ponderada y real.
Poco más puedo decir.
El grupito encantador, todo fue fácil y agradable. La pareja de mallorquines super amables y qué decir de Danae, hiperactiva, lista, buena profesional, simpática, ágil, … y Kostas conductor incansable con muchas ganas de aprender nuestra lengua, para lo que se esforzaba cada día más.
En fin, agradecer a los cuatro la amabilidad, cordialidad y simpatía que me hicieron pasar unos días muy agradables.
Hasta la próxima
Rosa M. Udina Abelló

Una semana estupenda,conociendo la región de Zagoria al norte de grecia. Preciosos senderos junto a las torres de Astraka que culminan con la llegada al cómodo refugio donde pasamos la noche y al día siguiente otra cómoda subida hasta el lago dragolini. Los siguientes días caminamos por bosques preciosos con un increíble colorido otoñal, ocre, verdes, amarillo, rojos una fantasía de color, puentes increíbles con cientos de años y formas caprichosas y una magestuosa garganta, Vikos.
Dormimos en casas rurales de unos preciosos pueblos rehabilitados, todo en piedra, casas, tejados, pavimento y sus plazas con gigantescos árboles centenarios. Comidas caseras y picnics muy currados.
Asistidos, dirigidos y coordinados por Danae, la creadora de Trails Beyond, simpática, afectuosa y conocedora de la región y la inestimable colaboración de Kosta que se encargo de llevarnos de un sitio a otro. Finalmente pateamos por Meteora un lugar muy especial aunque ya algo más turístico.
En fin, caminatas asequibles a todo aquel que guste andar y muy recomendable.

This tour (in April 2019) exceeded my expectations in every respect: the scenery at both Zagori and Meteora was spectacular, our two guides Danae and Ippo capable, accommodating and attentive, the guest house/hotel accommodation clean and comfortable. Nearly all meals were included and lunches were organised in advance to minimise loss of time. All the walks seemed to include interesting things to see such as small villages, wildflowers, old stone bridges, wildflowers and an enormous spring of clear water at the bottom of the Vicos Gorge. One needs to be fit enough to walk about 18 km in a day with a day pack over sometimes steep and rocky terrain. However I always felt I had plenty of time to enjoy the scenery and take photos. I feel that this tour is extremely good value for money and can thoroughly recommend it.

hello Danae
thank you very much for the arrangement of our hiking trip, We Had A Wonderful time 😀
Especially Thank You to Stavros and Ippokratis for the patience and expertise –
the planning, the pace, the hotel arrangement and with deep apology for the inconvenience caused by my food allergy and diet restriction.
1) We found the whole hiking trip to be well organized, every day there are wonderful and beautiful sights
2) the hotels arranged are unique and cozy and the owners are friendly and warm, Food is excellent too although it is too much food and huge portion, it’s more like a banquet (we learnt it is greek hospitality to have bonding over dinner and wide spread of food, haha )
3) the patience of Stavros and Ippokratis are excellent, they never tell us to Hurry hurry hurry, instead they always said, Relax, take your time, thus it’s a pace we can follow and had enjoyed all the wonderful scenery all the way 😀
4) although we are sad we couldnot hike to dragon lake, we really appreciate Ippokratis’s effort to show us the photographs and explained how the hike trail was like on this area, so we have a chance understand Dragon lake and its surrounding better
5) all villages, bridges, greek culture, national parks, vikos gorge,voidomatis river, meteora monasteries and food are explained and shared with us at every opportunity which make this hiking more interesting and informative
A BIG BIG BIG Thank You, wishing you a blessed, safe and fruitful year2019 and beyond…
till we meet again 😀

sincerely yours
Choy and Anna

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Seeing the setting sun reflected in the Adriatic about 80km away through a gap in the mountains from the ridge near the Astraka refuge above Papingo
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Take sleeping bag and warm clothing for a night in the refuge in spring and autumn.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, visited small village bars and restaurants., opportunity to buy unique handicrafts
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Stavros was a fantastic leader of the small group. Kept the programme interesting despite the need for changes to accommodate heavy rain and thunder

It was the first group tour I participated in and worth repeating!
The trip was super well organized and a great way to get to know the Zagoria. Danae guided our international group of 6 people. It was a very nice group. And Danae is a cheerful enthusiastic supervisor. Danae paid attention to everyone. For those for whom a stage was too difficult, she had an alternative.
The area is very attractive and rugged! The villages are very charming. Meteora is a wonderful addition. We had good places to stay and the food was delicious. There has been abundant late snowfall in the mountains. As a result, the 2 days in the high mountains unfortunately expired. But we had a good alternative.

Fantastic. Gorgeous Greece is an excellent place for a hiking adventure.

Through the mountains and beautiful villages: this trip exceeded my expectations in every way. Great organization, a fun guide, Danae, who is an advocate for the outdoors and for Greece in general. With our knowledgeable guide, our group explored and adventured our way through the itinerary.

The food and accommodation on the trip was also excellent.

The hiking was varied and will show you some of the beauty and history of Greece’s interior. I would highly recommend this trip.

What a fantastic tour with Danae, our wonderful organised and guide. I’m still talking about it as so many tourists head for the Greek Islands and forget that there are stunning places to visit in the mountains. The Zagori region is one such region and with the help of Trails Beyond we saw the best of this area. Food and accommodation were great. I highly recommend this trip to anyone who is seeking an adventurous walking holiday.

This was such a wonderful trip! I can’t say enough positive things abour Danae, our leader. Her enthusiasm for the land, her connection to the people, her flexiblity and her fun…she made this trip so special. There was a lot of variety in the hiking, the food was amazing and fresh, and it was a great group of six people so the size was right. If you want to get away from the touristy crowds and see the mountains of Greece this was the way to do it. Danae also worked with a few of us in adding extra days, making suggestions for other areas and generally being a good resource.

Go on this trip!! You will be amazed at the extraordinary scenery, the history and the variety of experiences. Danae and Voula our guides were excellent. Highly experienced, thoughtful, friendly and knowledgable. Trek the deepest gorge in the world, stay in a mountain hut and see wild horses, visit monasteries perched on top of mountain pillars like you’ve never seen. This is an area of the world that will be missed by many but should be on your bucket list.

A great weeks walking in an unknown, beautiful, rugged part of Greece. Sheer limestone cliffs, strange towering boulders, a night on a 2000 metre mountain, a walk through the deepest gorge in the world, a maze of ancient Ottoman, crescent shaped bridges and the monasteries of Meteora – they’re all there. Within a landscape of rural, welcoming, slow paced villages and towns run by Greeks for Greeks.
This is a well put together, nicely balanced trip, led by experienced, fun, informative, guide Danae and her team. You’ll hear about flowers, butterflies, bears, the Ottoman Empire, the Greek Orthodox Church, karst scenery, Byzantine churches and much more. Our drivers name was Socrates – what more can you say.

This trip went far beyond our expectations.
Hiking allowed us to experience the beauty of the landscape and learn about the flora, fauna, geology and history of the unspoiled and uncrowded Northern Pindos National Park from our very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, Danae.
A highlight was hiking to the mountain hut and stepping off the rocky trail enroute to Dragon Lake to allow 40+ wild horses to pass our group, then seeing them frolic in the grassy meadows below.
Staying in local guesthouses and visiting the monasteries at Meteora were also highlights.
We came away with a real feel for the land, culture and history of this beautiful, unspoiled area. We hope to return someday!

Very nice tour. The weather was not great, but they still managed to organize a nice trip.

Its was perfect! What made this experience so great was our tourguide – Dimitris. He had lots of stories from all the places we went and hiked. He recommended the best places to eat and have a hot drink or pie. Dimitris alone made our trip a 10/10 alone 😀 The landscapes and the hike was excellent aswell, easy to low-intermediate difficulty. Anybody could make them 🙂 Great views and nature wonders 🙂 I recommend all who’re reading this review 🙂 You won’t regret it. Ask for Dimitris as a tourguide. You Won’t be dissapointed 🙂

I wanted to say that our trip to Zagori was beyond our expectations.
The organization was well done, including last minute changes due to our flight cancellation.

The places we were taken were great and there was flexibility where needed (especially Dimitris guest house in Vitsa).
(The only comment we have is on regarding the guest house we stayed in Papigo, where the rooms where to small and break fast was a bit poor – but not to influence the beauty and our enjoyment of that day).
On top of all, we must say that Niovi was no doubt the highlight of the trek! We could not ask for more: her patience, her knowledge in Biology, Geology and History, her curiosity and above all, her never-ending energy to take us everywhere we requested and provide us with all our needs always with good spirit and a wonderful smile.
Thanks you and Niovi for all, we hope to come back to Greece for more wonderful experiences in the future.

Shachar, Haim, Dany, Avishay.

June 2023.