Greece - Korina Miller [273]
Grand Hotel Dendro ( 26550 29365; www.grandhoteldentro.gr; d/tr/ste €60/75/100; ) A different ambience pervades this, the upmarket sister hotel of To Dendro Guesthouse, which seeks to merge the traditional with the luxurious. The attic suites, with hydromassage showers, spacious living rooms and fireplace, are reminiscent of a superior ski lodge, while soft lighting and pastel colours lend a newlywed feel to the doubles. Excellent home-cooked Greek fare is served in the formal dining room.
Konitsa Mountain Hotel ( 26550 29390; www.konitsahotel.gr; s/d/tr/ste incl breakfast €70/90/120/150; ) High up the hill behind town, this superior place offers spacious rooms and combines smooth marble, beautifully seasoned wood floors and, of course, breathtaking mountain views. Some rooms have large Jacuzzis and fireplaces. The hotel also has a sauna, Turkish baths and a gym. Friendly owners Babis and Georgia, and their English-speaking son Apostolis, can advise about local activities. To get here, follow the road behind the centre uphill for 2km or take a taxi from the plateia (about €2).
To Dendro Restaurant ( 26550 22055; mains €5-8) Greek hunters and veteran travellers alike know that this, the taverna of innkeeper Yiannis Mourehidis, is the best place in town for wild boar in wine, pot-roasted lamb or delicious lake trout. Kick back with a beer and listen to Yiannis’ stories about life in the Konitsa wilds, but whatever you do don’t leave without trying the delectable hot grilled feta with chilli and tomato special.
Getting There & Away
From the bus station ( 26550 22214) buses serve Ioannina (€5.10, two hours, seven daily); change here for other destinations.
Buses reach the Albanian border at Mertziani (€1.30, 30 minutes, three daily) and go to Bourazani (€1.20, 30 minutes, four daily). The Petrina Horia villages of Molista and Ganadio have twice-weekly buses (€2.30, 30 minutes). If there are passengers, an afternoon bus leaves three times weekly for Kastoria (€14, four hours).
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AROUND KONITSA
Bourazani Μπουραζι
The Bourazani Environmental Park ( 26550 61283; www.bourazani.gr; adult/child €10/6; from sunset), 14km west of Konitsa, educates about Epiros’ wild things. It occupies a whole mountain close to the Albanian border, and includes a conference hall for environmental education and feeding areas for boar, deer, kri-kri and moufflon. Watch animals feeding at dusk via a bus tour from the adjacent Hotel Bourazani ( 26550 61283; bourazani@otenet.gr; s/d/tr €80/105/120; ), a good family spot that combines a hunting lodge ethos with a recreational centre (it has a pool, and tennis and basketball courts). The hotel’s restaurant grills up the Environmental Park’s unluckier inhabitants.
Molista & Ganadio Μóλιστα & Γααδιó
To see some wonderful and totally unvisited traditional villages amid lush forests, head north of Konitsa to the Petrina Horia (Stone Villages) of Molista and Ganadio. Molista is quiet, with only a few elderly year-round inhabitants. The village’s stone architecture and cobblestone streets are aesthetically soothing and it also has the large Church of Agios Nikolaos kai Taxiarhes (St Nicholas and the Archangels), created in 1864 on the site of a much older one. The church has a large belfry and an opulent wood-carved iconostasis, with fine detail work illustrating Biblical tales such as Adam, Eve, and the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Its impressive icons are at least 130 years old. However, locals keep the previous church’s icon collection under lock and key; no-one knows how old they are, as the villagers are still waiting for the Ministry of Culture to send an expert.
Molista has a humble but lovely guest house, the Arhontiko tis Serafi ( 26550 24090, 6945691216; s/d/tr €50/60/70), run by the good-natured Vangelis Serafis. The rooms aren’t spectacular but they are intimate, with some nice touches, antiques and the occasional