Wild Flowers of Epirus Travel Passports Please ensure your 10 year British Passport is not Baggage Allowance out of date and is valid for a full three months We advise that you stick to the baggage beyond the duration of your visit. The name on allowances advised. If your luggage is found to be your passport must match the name on your flight heavier than the airlines baggage allowance the ticket/E-ticket otherwise you may be refused charges at the airport will be hefty. boarding at the airport. With British Airways your ticket includes one hold Visas bag of up to 23kg plus one cabin bag no bigger Visas are not required for Greece for citizens of than 56 x 45 x 25cm including handles, pockets Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For all other and wheels, and one personal bag, such as a passport holders please check the visa handbag or computer bag. requirements with the appropriate embassy. For more information please visit Greek Consulate: 1A Holland Park, London W11 www.britishairways.com 3TP. Tel: 020 7221 6467 Labels Please use the luggage labels provided. It is useful to have your home address located inside your Tickets suitcase should the label go astray. Included with this documentation is an e-ticket which includes a reference number for your flight. Departure Tax At check-in you will need to quote/show this and UK Flight Taxes are included in the price of your you will be issued with your boarding pass. Online holiday. check-in is not available Transfers Please check that the details on your On arrival at Corfu Airport please collect your documentation are accurate and that all names luggage and exit the luggage area and proceed are spelt correctly and match the names on your until you are in the arrivals hall. You will find your passport. Your flight ticket is non-transferable and Tour Manager situated in arrivals, holding a Travel non-refundable. No refund can be given for non- Editions sign. The journey time to your hotel is used portions. approximately three hours. Special Requests If you haven’t already done so, please notify Travel Editions of any special requests as soon as possible to allow sufficient time to make the necessary arrangements. Accommodation Philoxenia Hotel, Monodendri When eating out the Greeks nearly always eat The family-run Philoxenia Hotel is a very attractive, ‘Mezedes’ style. This means ordering several traditionally designed, stone-built hotel situated in dishes, starters and/or main plates, whatever the upper part of the quiet village of Monodendri. takes your fancy, to put in the middle of the table Featuring wooden ceilings and floors, warm for all to share. It’s a very sociable way to eat and colours and dark wood furnishings; the a great way of tasting lots of different dishes! comfortable bedrooms, with private bathrooms, Don’t be shy in the amount you order, or if you are equipped with TV, fridge and hairdryer. A only find yourselves ordering starters – any breakfast buffet is served daily in a traditionally combination is acceptable. furnished dining area. The hotel has a small bar and a small library, with books on the local area. When ordering fish in Greece you will find the Free Wi-Fi access is available in all public spaces; price on the menu relates to a cost per kilo. Don’t magazines and board games are also be put off by this. You are expected to go into the available. Tavernas are within a 2-minute walk. kitchen, choose the fish you want and then it will For more information visit the hotel website; be weighed in front of you so you know what you www.zagoriaphiloxenia.gr will pay. Nearly all tavernas sell their own ‘open’ wine, Arion Hotel, Corfu known as village wine. It is something of an acquired taste but it goes well with the local food. The "Arion" Hotel recently renovated, is situated The white is usually always very drinkable but the in the area of Anemomylos just 100m from the sea red varies quite a lot. If you are unsure you can front, 1200 m from the centre of historic Corfu always ask if you can try the wine before you town and just a short walk from the beautiful agree to it. Prices of local ‘village’ wine are usually gardens of Mon-Repos. All rooms have their own between 3 and 5 euros per half litre. private bathroom, direct phone-line, TV, air- conditioning, balcony and free WiFi. The lounge Local drinks are ouzo, tsipoura, metaxa and, of area, the indoor bar and the restaurant with their course, Greek wine. Tsipoura is the local firewater! elegant furniture and high windows create a This is distilled from the residue of the grapes after comfortable and friendly atmosphere. A buffet making wine. You will probably find you come style breakfast is served in the dining room on the across this whether you want to or not, as it is very ground floor. The "Arion" offers an excellent often served, complimentary, at the end of a meal. location as well as a friendly service and comfortable rooms. Tavernas are easily accessed In Monodendri and Corfu you will find a from the hotel on foot. reasonable choice of tavernas within walking distance of the hotel. For more information visit the hotel website: http://www.arioncorfu.gr/ Meals included in your holiday Dining The standard of food in Greece is excellent and Breakfast daily offers a remarkable variety of freshly prepared and very tasty dishes, many of which use locally One dinner and two lunches grown products and locally produced olive oil. Destination Zagoria interiors, kalderimi (old mule trails), and forests of The word Zagoria comes from the Slavic language beech, chestnut, and pine. and means "behind the mountains", Za Having our main base for the tour at Monodendri, meaning "behind" and gora "mountain". Visiting one of the larger of the Zagoria villages, really the region and experiencing its undulating and provides the opportunity to truly soak up the local dramatic landscape that includes the second atmosphere of this remarkable region. highest mountain in Greece, Mount Smolikas, and the imposing Mount Tymfi range, it is easy to Metsovo understand why the region was given this name. Metsovo, situated at an altitude of 1200 metres, is The northern area of Zagoria has been designated famous for its roast meat, home-made pies, and a National Park, covering a distance of 2500 sq. km smoked cheese, as well as for its skiing with the dramatic Vikos Gorge slicing through the opportunities in the winter months. A village of middle. This status has ensured the rich flora and 5,000 Vlachs, Metsovo (60 km east of Ioannina) fauna of Epirus has been vitally protected. More rests upon the ruins of ancient Tymphi. It extends than 1800 species can be found here, many of along one of the highest peaks of the Pindus, and which are endemic and considered endangered. has a real ‘mountain resort’ feel with its "Alpine" Five species of wild lily flourish in the area; other architecture and its striking scenery. The village is impressive species that can be found are the built on the steep side of one mountain and looks Poet’s Daffodil, the Australia tulip, the spring across a valley to some of the highest peaks of the gentian and the saxifraga spruneri. Various Pindus Mountains, capped with snow even medicinal herbs and plants can also be found; through the summer. The inhabitants' income mint, sage, thyme, daphne, myrtle spurge and comes from lumber, grazing, cheese making, many others. Orchids are also prominent. Wildlife weaving and a robust red wine! Houses are made in the park includes 60 species of mammals, the from wood and stone, with slate roofs and carved most famous being the European Brown Bear with wooden ceilings. Metsovo and the other mountain others of note including wolves, wild cats, otters, villages of this area are completely unlike the rest boar and badgers. 187 bird species, 30 species of of Greece. Even the language is different, since reptiles, 14 kinds of amphibians and 17 species of most of the people, although they speak Greek, fish are also known to inhabit the park. are Vlachs and speak Vlachika as their native tongue. It’s not unusual to see some of the older Places of interest included in the tour: people wearing the traditional Vlach dress: men in black, sometimes with skirts and white leggings, Zagorohoria tasselled clogs and shepherd’s crooks, and women Zagorohoria means the villages of Zagoria, which in long skirts and embroidered velveteen bodices. comprise 46 stone-built villages situated to the north and northwest of Ioannina. Vikos Gorge During the last decade, the Zagorohoria region has Although our tour doesn’t include a walk into the become incredibly popular among Greeks, but it’s Vikos Gorge, it is such a striking feature of the a place that only foreigners ‘in the know’ visit. Its region that it has to be mentioned. cultured people, stunning landscapes, cozy The gorge is about 20km long and spreads guesthouses, World Heritage–protected between the villages of Monodendri and Vikos, architecture, and wonderful rivers make it a and is in the Guinness book of records as the unique destination. deepest gorge in the world. The average depth of Most of the villages consist of the the gorge is 700 metres, but its highest point is same ‘arhontika’ style houses - stone mansions 1,600 metres, the width varies from 450 to just a with walls and roofs made of grey slate, taken few metres.