The Tree Church of Agios Paisios has won one of the first places among the attractions of the wider region and won the Travelers Choice 2021 – 2022 award for the attractions of Konitsa
The tour of the western slopes of Grammos is a journey, a special and revealing experience for the visitor. There, the place has unadulterated natural beauty, cultural and religious monuments, while in and around its settlements, you see images of past times, from the time when man “collaborated” with nature for his daily life. Watermills, stone bridges, stone-built houses and historic temples, cause admiration and respect. The ascent to Grammos begins a few kilometers after Konitsa, between deeply shaded forests and running waters, which together with the sounds of nature, make the place mysterious.
With him as a tour guide Costa Ziako member of the Amaranto Cultural Association, we started the trek from the bridge, in the ravine of Sarandaporos. There used to be a suspension bridge there to connect the villages. People and goods crossed the river from there. Its base, which held the wire rope, still exists in the rock, in the bed. The white pebbles of the river, combined with the blue sky, create small turquoise mountain beaches and “close your eyes” to dive into the cool waters.
As we climb, the road is serpentine in some places, but the landscape is “breathtaking”. Forests with beech, pine and mountain meadows, give breaths of coolness and a beautiful picture.
A few kilometers after the ravine, we reach the village of Agia Varvara. Our guide suggests we visit the small craftsman village.
We are located at a distance of 22 kilometers from Konitsa and the settlement is built on the Goritsa hill at 720 meters altitude. The place keeps alive the imprint of its people who were craftsmen, of the stone. In the square, imposingly standing since 1770, the stone-built church of Agios Nikolaos, exceptionally painted with iconography, with an elaborate wood-carved iconostasis, the work of the famous Hionadite iconographers and woodcarvers. As we are informed, the village used to be called Plavali. Near the Holy Church, there is the chapel of Agios Georgios of Ioannina, while on the upper floor, there is the church of Agia Varvara. The village could be described as a “religious park”, as there are scattered chapels around the settlement, such as those of Agia Marina, Panagia, Agios Minas, Agios Charalambos, Prophet Elias, Agios Ioannis, Agios Athanasios, the small church in honor of Agios Kosmas Etolos and next to it the Tree Church of Agios Paisios.
The Tree Church of Agios Paisios
A few meters after the intersection for the village of Agia Varvara, on the side of the road, in the direction of Amaranto, the small church in the tree shocks the visitor. Arriving there, we met the man who inspired it, the journalist Haris Poretsis who comes from Agia Varvara.
“A few years ago, thanks to the idea and fulfillment of a wish of a resident of the village of Agia Varvara, the weak tree was internally shielded with stone and turned into a place of pilgrimage in honor of Agios Paisios“, says Haris and refers to the word of mouth about the relationship between Agios Paisios and the region. According to surviving testimonies, the path that started from Konitsa and reached the villages of the area passed through there. The young carpenter Arsenios Eznepidis, later monk Paisios, when he was working in Amaranto, used to stop at this particular tree to rest after hours of tiring hiking.
The tree had suffered a lot of damage in the past from fires, fires of passers-by barbecuing on the mountain, with the result that every year its condition worsens and it is ready to collapse! The signs of the disaster are evident if one observes the spot where the little bell stands.
Inside the tree church, there is the image of Agios Paisios surrounded by the faithful and a niche where the visitor can light a candle.
Stone terraces have been built next to it, so that visitors can relax, while an imposing wooden cross of 4 meters height has been placed.
The Tree Church of Agios Paisios, as reported by Haris Poretsis, has won one of the first places among the attractions of the wider area and received the Travelers Choice 2021 – 2022 award for the attractions of Konitsa according to the global travel guide TripAdvisor.
The love of the world is also reflected on the internet, where the Dentrokklisia Agios Paisios page has thousands of followers.
The culture of water, on the way to Amaranto village
With a lit candle, we say goodbye to Dendrokklisia and continue on the beautiful mountain route. Costas Ziakos stops the car at Neraidotopos. This is what the locals call the area, where they are with the waterfalls, the stone bridges, the watermill and the “manes”, the springs of the Ziasaka, a tributary of Sarantaporos. The sound of water, in harmony with the landscape. The tour reveals an impressive culture of a different era. A wooden structure bridges the river and leads into the forest where you discover the stone bridges. Of the 5 single arches that existed in the area, 4 are standing, unscathed by time and weather conditions.
Two kilometers separate us from Amaranto, the artisan village that got its name from the yellow flower that blooms all around it, every year at the end of spring and never withers. The holy Church of Agios Georgios, the old School that became a guest house, stone-built mansions, the Folklore Museum where the history and everyday life of the village unfolds, evoke admiration. The road continues up to 1240 meters altitude, where the thermal baths are located, a magnet for many visitors.
From there start marked paths that lead to the alpine landscapes of Grammos.
RES-EMP
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