Relative to its width, the Vikos Gorge in northwest Greece, at 1,350m is in fact the “deepest” canyon in the world, as certified by the Guinness Book of Records. No, it is not as deep as the Grand Canyon in America (1,857m) but it is so wide (up to 29km) that proportionally the Vikos is much deeper because it is only 2.7km at its widest part. Which means the Vikos Gorge is visually spectacular and is a great hike!

We began in the town of Monodendri in the Zagori region, where the trail into the gorge starts in the town square. As we gradually descended over 300m, breaks in the tree cover revealed tantalizing views of vertical cliffs.

(Click/tap on any photo to enlarge it)

At the bottom lies the Voidomatis river and the trail at times is lost amongst the boulders, requiring some scrambling, but most of the trail is pretty straightforward.

I was constantly stopping to stare up and take it all in.

The rain held off during the 7 1/2 hour hike, which covered 13.6km, with a 766m descent and 446m of ascent. But in the spring, afternoon thunderstorms are a regular occurrence, meaning many parts of the trail are muddy and slippery. Inevitably there were a few slips and falls in our group, mostly by me, which resulted in one of my REI carbon fiber hiking poles breaking. Some emergency surgery was performed, restoring at least partial utility to the injured equipment.

As that is the second time in less than a year that I have broken a carbon fiber pole — they are very strong under compression but much less so under flexion! — I have switched back to aluminum alloy poles, which are about 40% heavier. A few days later in Ioannina I bought a pair of very sturdy Greek-made AlpinPro Scout poles for less than €60, which collapse down to a size that fits inside my daypack.

As we climbed up out of the gorge to the end of the trail we had wonderful views looking back up the canyon.

This is how my Gaia hiking app recorded the hike. The density of the topo lines dramatically illustrates the steepness of the cliff walls. I’ve been using Gaia for over a decade and highly recommend it.