Karpenisi

Karpenisi lies at around 960 metres in the folds of Mount Tymfristos, known locally as Velouchi, the small mountain capital of Evrytania, one of the wildest and greenest regions in Greece. This is deep, remote country of forested slopes, gorges and stone villages, so scenic and so far from the sea that Greeks often call it their own Switzerland. The town itself is modern and workaday, rebuilt after wartime destruction, but its setting is extraordinary.

Winter brings snow and skiers to the Velouchi Ski Centre, some ten kilometres above the town on the slopes of Tymfristos. In the warmer months the focus shifts to the Karpenisiotis river valley that runs south from the town, a corridor of walking trails, rafting and canyoning that has made Evrytania a hub for mountain activities.

The pleasure of Karpenisi lies as much in the surrounding villages as in the town. Just down the valley, Megalo Chorio and Mikro Chorio cling to the fir-clad hillsides, all slate roofs and plane-shaded squares. Further on, the stone village of Koryschades preserves a museum of the wartime resistance, while the road climbs on to the dramatically sited monastery of Prousos, wedged into a cliff above a river gorge. Nearby, the gorge of Panta Vrexei, whose name means it always rains, drips with water year round beneath overhanging rock.

Getting here takes commitment. The mountain roads from Lamia to the east or Agrinio to the west are winding and slow, and there is no railway, which is precisely why Evrytania has stayed unspoilt. Most visitors come for a long weekend, filling their days with walks, drives and river sports and their evenings with hearty mountain cooking, game, pies and local cheeses, beside a wood fire.

For travellers who want the Greek mountains rather than the Greek islands, Karpenisi is one of the finest bases in the country, a place to swap beaches and ruins for forests, rivers and clean, high air.