#116 Hiking through the deepest gorge in the world

April 26-27, 2022: Monodendri, Vikos

J. The Vikos Gorge in northern Greece is the deepest gorge in the world in relation to its width and even made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 1997. At its deepest point, it is 900m deep and only 1100m wide. The highest tower in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai with its 828m height, could theoretically fit inside and not protrude at the top.

Of course, we didn't want to miss the opportunity to hike through here. We started the 6-hour tour in Monodendri. Here, there is a viewpoint from which you have a wide view of the deep, wooded gorge from above. There is also a stone forest here, interesting stones stacked into tall natural towers.

After a night in the stone forest, we made our way down into the gorge. According to the hiking map, the descent had a gradient of 50-75% and even more at some points. We often descended deep, natural rock steps and were grateful for the shade of the trees and cliffs. Despite the still small, bright green spring leaves of the trees, we always had a magnificent view of the infinitely high rock walls of the gorge.

I had thought that we would first descend into the gorge, make a lot of progress on a fairly flat path, and then climb out on the other end. But that was not the case. A flat path was very rare, and only for short stretches. The entire 12 km route was up and down. This hike was challenging, but very varied and exciting. Occasionally, we walked in the riverbed or climbed over the huge rocks and boulders. Most of the time, however, the path led along the edge of the gorge, between a few meters and 100 meters above the riverbed. It was up and down, sometimes on soft forest floor, sometimes on rocky terrain, sometimes on stacked stones. Sometimes we walked so close to the very steep abyss that I was glad I didn't have a fear of heights and still paid very close attention to where I stepped. Florian occasionally pushed stones down the slope to test how far they fell; some were stopped by the thin trees, but many fell hundreds of meters into the abyss.

We had to climb in some places, so at one point there were even ropes attached to help pull yourself up. Then we were suddenly surrounded by moss-covered trees and took a walk in the forest. In some of these places, the sun may never reach, as the moss grew in the dense forest on every conceivable surface of stones, rocks, trees, branches, and twigs, hanging down like long beards. Shortly afterwards, we stepped into the sun and found ourselves on a small meadow, which we crossed as if in a summer stroll.

Every time I was enjoying the pleasant, almost boring path, it became rockier and steeper. We stopped again and again to admire the surrounding mountains and rock walls. We don't know exactly where the world record was set and where the deepest point of the gorge is. But when I walked on the sand of the riverbed next to a cliff towering directly beside me into the sky, and I couldn't properly see the top of the rocks on the opposite side, I could imagine standing between two 900m high rocks.

By the way, the fact that the gorge is over a kilometer wide does not mean that there is a lot of space at the bottom; the width is measured between the tips of the rocks at the top. However, it is not so narrow at the bottom that the rocks appear threatening or that you would feel claustrophobic (as I had feared before). The many trees break the view and the mountains do not appear as daunting as the smooth rocks of some completely barren gorges that I have seen in Australia, for example. Nevertheless, this gorge is no less exciting, but particularly varied.

Interestingly, there is not always water flowing in the gorge or everywhere. The gorge is indeed crossed by a riverbed, and when we first came near the bottom of the gorge, we also heard the bubbling water. However, the river dried up after a while, so we later hiked through the dry riverbed and could admire the driftwood left behind by the former river. But there are apparently several springs in the gorge because we repeatedly came across a rushing river with clear and sometimes turquoise water.

In the evening, we reached the point of ascent. The trees were replaced by sage and other herbs, and during the strenuous ascent, we could look along the wide gorge. We were glad that we had taken our time for the hike, so that the sun had already disappeared behind the mountains and the ascent was in the shade. Earlier in the afternoon, this section of the hike would have been unbearable.

Although we took several longer breaks, we arrived in Vikos almost exactly six hours after we started. Vikos is a very small village consisting of only two streets. However, it is the namesake of the Vikos Gorge and is therefore known far beyond Greece. Numerous world-famous healers and doctors who produced medicine from the herbs of the gorge originated from here and spread it throughout Europe, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. Even the personal physician of the Sultan came from Vikos. Only the chemical production of medicine in the laboratory led to the decline of the healers from Vikos.

We enjoyed the view over the Vikos Gorge for a while, sitting on large rocks by the riverbank and cooling our feet in the water. But most of these rivers also dried up. We didn't find out where all the water went, but again and again, after the path had made a loop upwards along the cliff, we returned to a dry riverbed.

In the late afternoon, we arrived in Vikos after approximately six hours of hiking. Vikos is a super small village consisting of only two streets. However, it is the namesake of the Vikos Gorge and therefore famous far beyond Greece. Numerous world-famous healers and doctors, who produced medicine from the herbs of the gorge, came from here and spread it throughout Europe, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Even the personal physician of the Sultan came from Vikos. Only the chemical production of medicine in the laboratory led to the decline of the healers from Vikos.

We enjoyed the view over the Vikos Gorge for a while, sitting on large rocks by the riverbank and cooling our feet in the water. But most of these rivers also dried up. We didn't find out where all the water went, but again and again, after the path had made a loop upwards along the cliff, we returned to a dry riverbed.

In the late afternoon, we arrived in Vikos after approximately six hours of hiking. Vikos is a super small village consisting of only two streets. However, it is the namesake of the Vikos Gorge and therefore famous far beyond Greece. Numerous world-famous healers and doctors, who produced medicine from the herbs of the gorge, came from here and spread it throughout Europe, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Even the personal physician of the Sultan came from Vikos. Only the chemical production of medicine in the laboratory led to the decline of the healers from Vikos.

In the late afternoon, we arrived in Vikos after approximately six hours of hiking. Vikos is a super small village consisting of only two streets. However, it is the namesake of the Vikos Gorge and therefore famous far beyond Greece. Numerous world-famous healers and doctors, who produced medicine from the herbs of the gorge, came from here and spread it throughout Europe, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Even the personal physician of the Sultan came from Vikos. Only the chemical production of medicine in the laboratory led to the decline of the healers from Vikos.

We enjoyed the view over the Vikos Gorge for a while, sitting on large rocks by the riverbank and cooling our feet in the water. But most of these rivers also dried up. We didn't find out where all the water went, but again and again, after the path had made a loop upwards along the cliff, we returned to a dry riverbed.

In the late afternoon, we arrived in Vikos after approximately six hours of hiking. Vikos is a super small village consisting of only two streets. However, it is the namesake of the Vikos Gorge and therefore famous far beyond Greece. Numerous world-famous healers and doctors, who produced medicine from the herbs of the gorge, came from here and spread it throughout Europe, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Even the personal physician of the Sultan came from Vikos. Only the chemical production of medicine in the laboratory led to the decline of the healers from Vikos.

We enjoyed the view over the Vikos Gorge for a while, sitting on large rocks by the riverbank and cooling our feet in the water. But most of these rivers also dried up. We didn't find out where all the water went, but again and again, after the path had made a loop upwards along the cliff, we returned to a dry riverbed.

In the late afternoon, we arrived in Vikos after approximately six hours of hiking. Vikos is a super small village consisting of only two streets. However, it is the namesake of the Vikos Gorge and therefore famous far beyond Greece. Numerous world-famous healers and doctors, who produced medicine from the herbs of the gorge, came from here and spread it throughout Europe, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Even the personal physician of the Sultan came from Vikos. Only the chemical production of medicine in the laboratory led to the decline of the healers from Vikos.

In the late afternoon, we arrived in Vikos after approximately six hours of hiking. Vikos is a super small village consisting of only two streets. However, it is the namesake of the Vikos Gorge and therefore famous far beyond Greece. Numerous world-famous healers and doctors, who produced medicine from the herbs of the gorge, came from here and spread it throughout Europe, Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Even the personal physician of the Sultan came from Vikos. Only the chemical production of medicine in the laboratory led to the decline of the healers from Vikos.

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