Drakolimni

The lake sits in a limestone bowl at 2,050 metres, its water dark and still, alpine newts drifting just below the surface. The Gamila plateau stretches away in every direction — bare rock, crevices packed with alpine flowers, and a silence broken only by wind across the stone pavement. The climb from Papigo takes three to four hours, and the altitude change is felt in every step.

There are two Drakolimni (dragon lakes) in Greece — the most accessible sits at 2,050 metres on Mount Gamila in Zagori, reached by a three-to-four-hour ascent from the Papigo villages. The Alpine newt inhabits the lake; the Greek word drako was applied to newts, which ancient Greeks considered uncanny creatures, giving the lakes their name. The Gamila plateau surrounding the lake is high-altitude limestone pavement, covered in summer with Crocus nivalis and other alpine flowers growing directly from rock cracks. In winter the lake freezes completely and snow lies on the plateau until May or June — early-season approaches require crampons and route-finding on unmarked terrain. The Astraka refuge below the plateau provides basic overnight accommodation for hikers.