Villages All Around Me
The route stretches for a total of 124 kilometers and lasts about 3 hours by car or motorcycle, without stops. Visitors may travel part of it or divide it across days. It is recommended year-round and is ideal for those who are interested in local cuisine and gastronomy, regional culture, the natural environment, and outdoor activities such as hiking, mountaineering, cycling, and even snow sports.
This unique journey of about 3.5 hours through the highlands of Grevena resembles a living painting that changes colors with the seasons: snow-covered fir trees in winter, blossoming slopes in spring, shady villages in summer, and crimson-golden forests in autumn. From the town of Grevena to the alpine village of Samarina, the road runs along the boundaries of the Grevena–Kozani UNESCO Geopark and the Pindus National Park, through landscapes where nature reveals its most awe-inspiring face.
At Ziakas, at the foot of Mount Orliakas, the legendary hero lends his name to a village proud of its double-arched stone bridge. In Spilaio, the bridges of Portitsa, Liatissa, and Katsogiannis open like stone arms across gorges and rivers, embodying the toil, artistry, and mastery of past generations. Perivoli is the gateway to the heart of Valia Kalda National Park, where the Arkoudorema stream flows through dense coniferous forests, offering one of Greece’s most unique hiking experiences.
Avdella recalls the pioneering Manaki brothers, trailblazers of Balkan cinema, while in Lavda, a museum celebrates the region’s rich mushroom gastronomy. The road continues to Smixi and Vasilitsa, where natural beauty meets the renowned ski center, holding snow until late spring. Mesolouri is framed by waterfalls, watermills, and gentle trails, while Dotsiko is adorned with a rare single-arched stone bridge. The journey culminates in Samarina, Greece’s—and perhaps the Balkans’—highest village, where the Church of the Megali Panagia is famous for the pine tree that grows miraculously from its sanctuary.
The gastronomy here is a continuous celebration of nature and human tradition. Wild mushrooms take center stage, cooked in every way imaginable—soups, pies, stews, or with pasta. Other highlights include leek pies and leek soups, game dishes, fried ourda cheese, sweet laggites (fried dough), and moustalevria (grape must pudding). Local households are always stocked with cheeses—anevato, feta, kasseri, batzos, manouri, ourda, kefalograviera—and wines that fill glasses with warmth and hospitality. On your way back, you will find mushrooms, herbs, honey, hilopites, and both sweet and sour trahana in local stores—perfect to gift or to relive the flavors at home.
On this route, every village, slope, bridge, mountain path, and every dish is an experience to be lived and relived—rare, authentic, and true.
Route Products
PDO Products: Anevato cheese of Grevena, Batzos cheese, Feta cheese, Kasseri cheese, Manouri cheese, Kefalograviera of Western Macedonia
PGI Products: Wines of Grevena, Wines of Macedonia
Specialties: Anevato and Ourda cheeses, Lavda mushrooms, wild mushrooms (fresh and dried), herbs, honey, hilopites, sweet and sour trahana, leeks, game
Route Delicacies
Grevena Mushroom Soup: A dish that showcases the region known as Greece’s “mushroom capital.” Made with wild mushrooms such as black trumpet, boletus, or morel, sautéed in butter or olive oil, flavored with leek, garlic, Florina pepper, and nettle, then deglazed with white wine. A touch of trahana is added for body, and milk for a velvety finish.
Hare in Batter (Kourkouti): A traditional recipe with bold flavor. The hare is marinated in vinegar, parboiled twice for tenderness, and cooked in a rich sauce of flour, oil, and red pepper. Garlic and lemon add zest, creating a spicy and juicy dish best enjoyed hot with rice or potatoes.
Grevena Greens Pie: A rustic pie filled with the aromas of fresh herbs and wild greens, wrapped in handmade multilayered phyllo. The filling combines spinach, chard, wild greens, leeks, and scallions, enhanced with dill, mint, and feta cheese, with eggs and trahana adding texture. Baked until golden, the phyllo encases a filling that is fragrant, moist, and utterly satisfying.