A Visit to the Mainland

A trip to the mainland, first requires a 2 hour ferry journey from Corfu town to Igomonitsas.

The ferry costs 30 Euros per car and 4 Euros per person (one way). They operate from the main port in Corfu town daily from 6am to 11pm, hourly. I recommend setting off early so that you can make the most of the day.

Arrival into Igomenitsas is nothing special. The town is a typical commercial port and should be left as soon as possible! As you leave the ferry, turn left and look for the port exit - it is easy to find and is next to the police 'shed'. At the exit, take a left - be careful as the road here is quite busy. Now, on your right you will see several cafe bars and numerous ferry ticket offices and on your left the sea. Stay on the road for about 200-300 meters and it will 'fork off' to the right (at this point you may spot a signpost for Ioannina). Now you will be driving through the main high street of Igomenitsas. After about 1km, the high street will end and the road will fork right and join the main road to Ioannina. You stay on this road all the way (94Km) and it takes about an hour and a bit.

The road to Ioannina goes up into wild mountains and has some impressive hairpin bends, but the views are stunning.

Vrosina is a small mountain village and is about halfway - convenient for a coffee stop.

From here the road starts to widen and gently slopes down into the Ioannina basin.

Ioannina is 700 meters above sea level and nestles among towering mountains - often snow-capped for 10 months each year. The main feature though is the very large lake that almost surrounds the town.

I suggest spending the rest of the first day exploring the town - this is actually a bit of a mixed bag. The old part is down by the lake front dominated by the large fort. Small winding streets selling handmade sliver jewellery (which the area is famous for), and traditional wares.

The large square (or platia) at the lake front has several excellent restaurants, offering spit roasted lamb over a charcoal grill. You must try the local feta which is very creamy, but you may want to avoid the local specialty called 'Kokavetsi' which will be recommended to you - it is a 'lamb innards' kebab wrapped with intestines and char grilled - not for the faint-hearted! If walking around the old town does not excite you, then head for:

Incidentally I started by mentioning that the town of Ioannina was a bit of a mixed bag, well the old part is fine, but the new part which looks down onto the lake is very modern.

For a hotel for your first night, there are many in Ioannina, but I would recommend staying just outside at .........(I'll find the name!) It has a small swimming pool which is sure to be welcomed after a day of touring.

Head out of Ioannina on the road to Perama. (Sign posted: Metsovo.) Once you go though the small village of Perama the road starts a rapid accent up into the mountains.

The road to Metsovo is only 54km and should take just over one hours drive. It is a little narrower than the Igomenitsas to Ioannina road and with little or on traffic - but a new road with many tunnels is being built. Villages are few and far between. The views are just stunning.

The village of Metsovo is set in a valley, and seems like an oasis in the middle of the mountains. Originally its remote location was ideal for elusive criminals on the run.

The turning off the main road down to Metsovo (pictured above) is easily missed as it is just after a hairpin bend. Driving down to the village as first is a little worrying. The first buildings you see are made of concrete with corrugated roofs. Do not despair! After 200-300 meters, you will be greeted by the old village. Drive down to the square and park.

Many of the houses use a local stone to clad the roofs. This is a picture of the museum there.

Local village crafts include wine - the Alverof white is excellent. Also, the many varieties of goat cheeses. We particularly enjoyed the smoked ones.

There are several hotels to choose from, but I would recommend having one already booked. The hotel Apollon is a good choice, especially with an Internet cafe next door!

Once booked into your hotel, you will probably be hungry! We ate at a Taverna just above the square. As it was winter we ate inside, but they had a large tree shaded terrace - ideal for summer dining.

We were offered wild boar and lamb in lemon - both were stunning - especially as they were being washed down by the local plonk.

Metsovo is great. Small stone houses, cobbled streets and just small enough to be explored in one day.

Today you have a choice:

Head back to Corfu, stopping at Ioannina for lunch. A relaxing drive, would have you back to Corfu for evening diner at Taverna Agni.

Else, drive up to Zagori - about an hours drive. View the deepest gorge in the world (1km deep - makes the grand canyon look like a stream!) and return to Corfu. If you drove to Zagori and stopped for lunch, you would still have time to drive back to Igomonitsas to catch an evening ferry - but would it require a 3-4 hour drive.

These notes and photos were made during our recent trip to the mainland in Feb 2002. I assume that everything I have written is applicable for the summer months. I would expect the roads to be a little busier and of course it will be much hotter. (We found it quite cold!) You may feel an air-conditioned car is worth the extra cost - especially if you have children. Incidentally, before you go, you must make sure that you are permitted to take your car to the mainland - check with your car hire company. Also, take your driving license and passports as there are occasional checks on the Ioannina road.

The Caves of Perama are located just 2km from the town centre of Ioannina. Take the road out of town (going back towards Igomanitsas) and look for the 'Metsovo', 'Trikala' signpost. (As you can see we went on a rainy day!)

In about 500m on your left, you will see large signs for Perama and the cave (the Ioannina lake should be on your right). Take the small lane up to the cave - via an unusual one-way system - the road system seems to revert to the UK side! After about 500m you will see a overhead sign, commanding "Stop - Cave", with an arrow pointing to the left up a small flight of steps. Look for somewhere to park your car - there is no car park, so you may have to park some way up the lane, and then walk back. Walk up the flight of steps, and straight ahead, you will see the cave entrance. The small garden shed to the left is where you pay - which didn't seem very obvious to us - although it was winter time. The charges for 2002 are 6 Euros per adult and 2 Euros per child and include a well rehearsed and very informative 'guided tour' lasting 45mins - for much of that time you will be walking.

Initially you have to go through some fairly small tunnels - if you are tall - watch your head. Suddenly, you arrive into a huge cavern full of every type of calcium rock formation imaginable.

The camera is unable to capture the awe inspiring size of the main cavern. After detailed explanations, the tour continues along the full length of the cavern - weaving between a field of 'stalagmites' - some of them over 7 meters tall - we were reminded that it takes over a hundred years to grow one centimeter! The trail continues down deep twisting tunnels opening into even more caverns - all of them impressively backlit with orange street lights! During the tour, you are shown over 20 different types of rock formations - stalagmites and tights are only one such type. You are allowed to get very close up and even encouraged to touch them - something that children are sure to love.

Many of the rock formations have formed 'statues' and have been given names. This one is supposed to be 'Santa Claus' '. My favourite though was the 'wine bottle' - in my excitement I forgot to take a photo!

The caves are world famous for having the most different varieties of formations.

Our guide told us that the only threat to the caves is the high levels of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere that combines with the rain to form carbonic acid. This acid is slowly eating away the formations. Sad to think that it took 1500000 years for the caves to become what they are today and yet in a brief period we seem to be able to destroy them!

Before the exit, there is quite a steep climb. During a brief pause there is a mention about the cave's discoverer and then back into the daylight. You come out high above the entrance. There is a small cafe, offering great views over the Ioannina lake. Also a friendly little jewelers offering allegedly hand crafted sliver rings set with local stone in Byzantinyen designs. I avoided these as they were a little 'pagan looking', and selected a matching silver necklace and bracelet set for Eleni.

'Sotiris' the owner, was incredibly friendly and offered me a glass of 'Tispiro' - illegally homemade by his father. This is a traditional drink of the area and not dissimilar to Italian grappa. Normally it is a vial throat-burning mixture which you dare not smoke near, but this was extremely good and it is worth asking him for some.

Over all, the cave was an interesting awe inspiring experience and well guided. I liked the way you could get so close to the features, but found some of the paths very narrow and wet - so a little slippery. Most of the paths also had quite steep steps (which were often carved out of the rock) and this combined with a fair amount of walking would make the tour unsuitable for the elderly.