Epiniana, also known as Pinggiana, lies at an altitude of 1,100 metres. The village is becoming an important destination for nature lovers, hikers and mountaineers. For planning a trip, the Pindus Trail’s day stages, several gorges associated with Epiniana and the village’s traditional history provide specific points of interest. The Monastery of Panagia Stana adds a cultural perspective on the surrounding area. Epiniana can thus be seen both as a hiking destination and through its history and art.

Hiking the Pindus Trail

One day stage of the Pindus Trail connects Epiniana, the Asprorema Gorge, Delidimi Pass and the village of Leontito. Another day stage connects the village of Marathos with the settlement of Karvasaras near the Agrafiotis River, the Anifora arch bridge and the village of Epiniana.

The stages differ in the other places and features they connect: one links Epiniana with a gorge, a pass and Leontito; the other leads from Marathos via Karvasaras, near the Agrafiotis River, and the Anifora arch bridge to Epiniana. If you are choosing a day stage based on landscape features and named places, these differences offer a specific point of comparison. Both routes are described as day stages and can be included as day sections in your hiking plans. Check the current condition of the trails before setting out.

Gorges and the Anifora hiking trail

The gorges associated with Epiniana include the Agrafiotis Gorge near Trypa, Fterorrema Gorge and Asprorema Gorge. Apati Gi is also named alongside Fterorrema. The Anifora hiking trail is considered particularly beautiful; a Pindus Trail stage’s arch bridge bears the same name. When planning your hike, you can distinguish between these two named features: Anifora refers here both to a hiking trail and to an arch bridge.

Village history and culture in the surrounding area

Epiniana was traditionally a livestock-rearing village. This historical background adds a second perspective to its present-day development as a destination for nature lovers, hikers and mountaineers. The description of Epiniana as a livestock-rearing village refers to its traditional role; its growing importance as a destination is a separate, present-day perspective.

Nearby, the katholikon of the Monastery of Panagia Stana is located in a cave in a granite rock between the local communities of Epiniana and Agrafa. The icons inside the church were painted by local icon painters of the Byzantine school of Agrafa. Two specific aspects come together here: the katholikon’s location in the rock and the icons’ origins in a local artistic tradition. For travellers interested in Byzantine art, this provenance offers a cultural point of interest alongside the hiking themes.

While the trail stages provide a day-by-day framework for hiking, village history and icon painting offer another way to explore Epiniana and its immediate surroundings.

Discover more destinations: Agrafa, Granitsa, Krikello, Fourna, Karpenísion, Anatoliki Fragkista, Fragkista, Prousós.

For the overview of the wider area: Evritania.