Apeiros Chora
The Land
Without End

The Place

Zagori lies in northwestern Greece, where the Pindus mountain range shows its steepest faces. Around 46 stone villages, connected by kalderimi paths — hand-laid stone slabs that have linked villages, mountain passes and trading posts for centuries — and arched bridges built from dry-set stone without a drop of mortar. Arriving here, you sense it immediately: this is real. A landscape that people built a thousand years ago, and that shaped them in return.

The Ottoman Empire once forgot this region — and that is precisely what has preserved it so well. Since 2023, the Zagori Cultural Landscape has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The world is only slowly turning its gaze here. It's worth coming early.

At the heart of it all: the Vikos Gorge — deeper than the Grand Canyon relative to its width. The Voidomatis river flows along its floor, one of the clearest rivers in Europe. Water so transparent you forget how cold it will be until the moment you step in.

The Manor

Kato Pedina sits at 950 metres, above a valley under European nature protection — 4,000 hectares of mountain wilderness that no one may build on. Apeiros Chora — the name means "The Land Without End" — is an aristocratic estate from the late 17th century. Several individually designed suites; each carries its own colour palette, its own furniture, its own quiet.

Stepping inside, you find a small labyrinth. A sequence of lounges, reading nooks, terraces, hidden corners — guests discover new spaces even on their last evening. Apeiros Chora was never built as a hotel. A warm place to fall into conversation and feel the closeness of this wonderful setting.

The People

The manor belongs to the Kontouris family — rooted in this valley since the late 17th century. What Xenofon Kontouris runs today is not a hotel. It is a family home that welcomes guests.

His wife Athina Aslanidou, an interior architect, oversaw the restoration. The hardest thing to preserve: the original hand-made plasterwork. Time had taken its toll. Athina recreated it — with the same materials, but different hands.

And then there are the windows. Two panes of glass in the salon carry a crack — from a shrapnel fragment dating to the Second World War, when the house served as military headquarters. The family still keeps the fragment today. Its shape matches the crack in the glass exactly. Xenofon's grandfather — then already past seventy — walked seven to eight hours on foot from Ioannina during the occupation, leading a mule, to bring food up to the family. The windows have stayed.

The Experience

Mornings: bread Athina has baked herself, jams, pies filled with wild mountain herbs. The scent from the kitchen — the family calls it the Mageireio — drifts through stone corridors before you open your eyes. A uniquely warm, unhurried atmosphere.

And then: the gorge. The Vikos Gorge can be walked year-round — the full crossing from Monodendri to Vikos village is twelve kilometres, six to eight hours. For those who prefer something quieter: the Beloi viewpoint, where the gorge opens beneath you like a wound in the limestone. Go early, at first light.

The Papingo rock pools — ice-cold, turquoise water that makes you want to jump straight in. The Vradeto stone steps. The arched bridges of Kalogeriko and Kokkori. For those with stamina: the ascent to Drakolimni, the Dragon Lake on Mount Tymfi, at 2,050 metres. Everywhere, ancient stone steps that have lain here for centuries.

On the way back: small stone villages with tavernas, regional food — filo pastry with mountain herbs, mushrooms, wild boar, truffles. Whatever the land gives, lands on the plate. On request, Apeiros Chora arranges private truffle hunts for guests — three to four hours in the forest with trained dogs, followed by cooking together with what you've found.

The Silence

Xenofon's advice: don't plan too many activities. The most unforgettable moments come from the unexpected conversation, the hidden path — from simply slowing down.

Most mornings, mist settles in the valley below the village. It drifts gently between the hills; mountain peaks emerge above it like islands. In spring and autumn, you hear the call of the little owl — the Gkionis — at dusk and again at dawn. For the people of the village, it marks the turning of the seasons.

In the evening, you return. The fire is already burning. The village is still. The Pindus turns from gold to violet.

The manor is built from the same stone as the bridges and the paths. Held by a family that never stopped.