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 SIGHTSEEINGS -> Route No.3
Aghia Paraskevi (Giourgia)
A few kilometers south of Tria Potamia lies the village of Aghia Paraskevi, on the treeless slopes of Tzoumerka, at an altitude of 950 m over Acheloos river.
The wild beauty of the landscape, with the ravine formed by the passege of the river, and the location of the village are the natural characteristics of Aghia Paraskevi. The towering peaks of Paletzi (1800m), Pente Pyrgi (2000m) and Katarrachias (2299m, a natural boundary with the pastures of Matsouki in Ioannina), lend to the landscape the sense of absolute.
The scenery is complemented by the crystal waters of Louni, Secha, Br'ba, Grekou, Chasani, Bandi, Giourtsano, Gondisoro (=in the sun, in the Vlachi dialect), some inside the village, others at altitudes of 1700-1900 m, forming mountain streams and even the 12 m waterfall of Mandani tou Diaolou (=Devil's waterfall), at the site Livadia.
A stock-farmer's village (6,000 goat and sheep), it is deserted in the winter, counting 2,500 inhabitants in the summer. One can enjoy the liveliness and warmth of this reunion of people separated during the long winter months from their village and each other, living mostly in villages of the plains.
The climax of this reunion is the feast of Aghia Paraskevi (25-28/7), when folk dance groups with traditiontal costumes perform and the village youths visit all the houses accompanied by a folk music band.
The celebrations on the day of the Apostles Peter and Paul (29/6) and Aghia Marina (17/7), purely religious, take place in the respective chapels, while engagements and weddings are still held in the traditional way. Stone is the dominant building material here, blending with contemporary materials in several village houses.
The village square is dominated by the church of Aghia Paraskevi (1896) built on the location of an older church, according to tradition. The stone-built church of Aghios Georgios was built before 1790, while the chapel of Aghia Marina in 1900. The ruined monastery of Kimisi tis Theotokou (Assumption of the Virgin), built on the pass to Epirus, was the reason for the establishment of the village on the spot, according to tradition, because the location, the extended pasture lands and the good climatic conditions were favourable for the development of stock-raising.
TRY Kebab and kokoretsi,
BUY Gruyere cheese and honey from local producers.
VISIT The churches of Aghia Paraskevi and Aghia Marina. Lakkoma.
ENJOY Mountain climbing. Trout-fishing in Aspropotamos.
DON'T MISS The feast of Aghia Paraskevi.
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