The reconnection of the traditional path: Metsovo - Anilio - Mantra Hodja - Haliki - Stournara - Kalarrytes/Syrrako
The reconnection of the traditional path: Metsovo - Anilio - Anilio - Mantra Hozza - Haliki - Stournara - Kalarryites/Syrrako
See a few pictures of the traditional path, Anilio - Mantra Hozza - Haliki - Stournara - Valtoneri - Kalarryites/Syrrako during the effort to reconnect the northern Pindos with the Athamanian Mountains.
It is moving to walk on such trails and disheartening at the same time... Years have passed and they have become almost impassable!
*At the end of the text is a link to a related publication of the Ascending Magazine with available gpx files
A friendly note for those who happen to be unaware:
For the traditional trail, which connected Anilio with Haliki and the villages of Kalarrites and Syrrakos, as well as many other forgotten gems of Pindos, a great effort is being made to locate it in the field and to find resources for studies and restoration.
It certainly sounds ambitious to you, but from what we know it is the only way to hope for the preservation of these monuments.
To date, progress in the composition of the Pindus Trail route has come solely from the contribution of the public, which is small compared to the project budget (Delphi - Gramos - Prespes), but blessed.
We do not feel ashamed to know that there is no financial support from local authorities etc. state bodies, apart from a positive opinion received for the study of the eastern Rumeli leg and a batch of stakes for the signage provided by the Municipality of Delphi, for which we thank them.
We informed, we did not ask, we did not receive... Better not to jump to conclusions.
Volunteerism has been and will remain our hallmark because it enhances the direct interaction and the practical part of the initiative. But some things cost and our pockets are not enough to cover the need in its full spectrum.
Until a few years ago some members of the initiative did that too by putting in from the spare, and rarely from the surplus because there was none.
As far as we know, many of the traditional trails have not been included in any conservation plan and their fate is uncertain if we do not take care of them in time, as year after year they disappear from the dense vegetation, collapse and become impassable even for the mammals of the forest.
The local people who remain in the villages remember them in their glory and speak proudly of these paths. They hope to see them open again!
They are glad to see someone involved in preserving history and making hiking flourish in the footsteps they left behind. Some ask us: how do you do it; who pays you? A reasonable question..
Once they hear that we don`t get paid by anyone, but we make ends meet with operating expenses, they find it hard to believe and they are probably not the only ones. That makes sense.
Then they wonder, where is the state? They`ve heard the rumors about the money promised by the government. Everyone is waiting for that money they were promised for the trails and no one is sweating it out with no financial reward. But the elders doubt it, money is not enough to solve the problem, it takes a mountain soul... So they tell us, they know!
They themselves grew up going through it, but the years have passed, old age has come and they can no longer maintain it as they did in their youth.
The sheep and goats that they used to graze and keep open from the vegetation that now chokes them are also dramatically reduced.
However, some of these important trails have long been included in the planning of the Pindos hiking trail as they have been described since 1986 in Tim Salmon`s guidebook ``The Mountains of Greece`‘ which was republished in 2018 with additional details and the title ``Trekking in Greece’` (the Peloponnese and Pindos way) by Tim Salmon and Michael Cullen.
Consequently, many of the traditional trails that remained closed and forgotten have been reopened to a certain extent in recent years and marked out for greater development, to allow for passage and any restoration work that may arise in the future, provided a number of studies are carried out and a project permit is obtained.
And while for centuries the maintenance of semi-nomadic trails has been the responsibility of mountain peoples, now to maintain them there is legislation formulated by educated urbanites, studies, bureaucracy and project approval required, while a short distance away heavy-duty digging machines plough the mountains degrading the environment, history and aesthetics of the landscapes, either to become batteries or attractions for motorists who could not reach the plateaus on foot.
It is a fact that from the first day the Pindos Trail has been progressing with countless obstacles and minimal support, against the weather...what else?
But to lighten the atmosphere and take you up there, read more about the Metsovo - Anilio - Haliki - Kalarryites /Syrrakos leg and download the route files here, so you can go and see for yourself what we have and what we are dealing with: https://anevenontas.gr/apo-ti-notia-sti-voreia-pindo-me.../
