Aventura | Grammos

On the three days of October 26-28, 2019, the annual Jeep Safari took place with destination the area of Grammos and Aetomilitsa!

An excursion – trekking, three days in the unexplored, historical corner of Greece, in alpine landscapes, with many dirt kilometers, hiking in the drakolimni of Gramos, adventure games and canyoning in the gorge of Kleftis in Grevena! It was the first time we were in this area and the only sure thing is that we will repeat it!

We started early on Saturday morning of October 26, with the meeting of the crew being at the village square of Nestorio, Kastoria.

The first acquaintance took place at the place where the River Party takes place, a beautiful location next to Aliakmonas, through group games with a lot of laughter! The continuation of the first day found us on dirt roads, in the heart of the Grammos National Park with destination the hostel/shelter of Mr. Theodoros in Aetomilitsa. Of course we did not miss the stops on the historic hill “Haros”, in the National Reconciliation Park where we attended a very interesting lecture by Professor Raymondo Albano and in the alpine lakes Arenas for the established snack. Arriving in Aetomilitsa we had the opportunity to enjoy a stunning sunset on a very nice dirt, circular route around the village.

The evening found us next to the lit fireplace of the hostel with good company, guitar, wine and boiled goat!

The second day of the excursion started with waking up very early in the morning because the program has an ascent to the alpine drakolimni “Gistova” and over 60km of dirt route!

First we enter an incredible dirt route Aetomilitsa – Gramousta through alpine landscapes, pastures & sheepfolds at near 2000m altitude. After a short stop for the morning breakfast we reach Gramousta and take the uphill road to the drakolimni of Grammos. 5km of dirt road and we reach the point where we will leave the 4×4 jeeps, take our backpacks and hiking sticks and continue our climb. The route to the lake is a two-hour climb, which compensates us with the amazing landscape we will encounter! Rest & snack by the lake, photos with the alpine Triton, stories and legends about the lake and of course enjoy the landscape combined with the amazing sun and summer temperatures at 2350m! We start for the descent with the mind to the barbeque that awaits us in Grammousta!

Due to the change in winter timezone, the last route of the day will be night. We return around 8 in Aetomilitsa for rest and account of the day in front of the fireplace with jokes, guitar, wine and of course boiled goat!

Third and last day of our trip. After we had our breakfast with local eggs, homemade jams & Greek coffee we started for our way back with a short stop for a swim!

We leave Grammos and passing by Fourka and Samarina we reached the village of Spilaio and the gorge of Kleftis. There, Hercules, our friend and guide, is waiting for us to cross the gorge “Kleftis”. We wear neoprene suits and get ready for an amazing, “cool” experience with water slides, dives and lots of laughter in a very narrow gorge one kilometer long. Dusk found us in a traditional tavern of the Cave recalling and commenting on moments from the unforgettable three days!

A big thank you to all the participants for the wonderful company and to Suzuki Papavramidis for providing us the amazing new Jimny!

Watch here the video of the trip from the Explosivo YouTube channel.