Kipoi Stone Bridges

Zagori's stone bridges were built mostly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by itinerant masons from the region, funded by wealthy villagers and merchants, to carry mule tracks over torrents that flood in spring, and the cluster around Kipoi is the finest. The triple-arched Plakidas or Kalogeriko bridge of 1814 curves across the Bagiotiko in three unequal spans and is the most photographed structure in Zagori. Nearby stand the single-arched Misios bridge, the tall Kokkorou bridge of 1750, and Lazaridis. All are dry-stone or lime-mortared, unusually thin in profile, and still crossable on foot. Short marked paths link several of them, and the whole area falls inside the Vikos-Aoos UNESCO Global Geopark.

What you actually see

• Plakidas bridge - the three-arched 1814 span, Zagori's signature.
• Kokkorou bridge - a tall single arch of 1750 over the gorge.
• Misios bridge - a slender single-arch crossing near the village.
• The connecting paths - short trails between bridges along the streams.

When to go

Spring for full water under the arches and green slopes, autumn for colour; both give the best photographs. Summer streams can dry to a trickle, which flattens the effect.

Honest expectations

Parking at the bridges is informal and tight, and the approach paths are steep and slippery in wet weather. The bridges are close to the road, so they are not remote discoveries. Winter ice makes the stone dangerous.

Nearby

Kipoi village and Dilofo are minutes away; the Vikos gorge viewpoints and Papingo lie north.