Aposkepos: Hiking Trails and Village Square

Aposkepos combines a cobbled central square with an extensive network of hiking trails that converge here. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in a destination focused on hiking, you will find several named routes of varying lengths. The square, with its multi-spout fountain, also gives the village a distinctive, tangible landmark.

Hiking trails around Aposkepos

An extensive network of trails starts in Chloi near Kastoria, converges in Aposkepos, passes through neighbouring villages, and reaches as far as Bicovic, Magkovits and Portes on Vitsi. The European long-distance path E6 includes the Kastoria–Apóskepos and Apóskepos–Kraniōnas sections here. Other named routes include:

• Kastoria–Apóskepos (8.1 km)
• Apóskepos–Kraniōnas (11.6 km)
• Sioutista Stream–Apóskepos (3.6 km)
• Apóskepos–Kazani–Bicovic Pass (4.9 km)
• Apóskepos–Profitis Ilias–Bicovic Pass (4.9 km)
• Apóskepos–E6–Bicovic Pass (5.7 km)

Other routes are associated with Stavros Pass, also known as Apóskepos Pass:

• Regional road–Stavros Apóskepos (4.9 km)
• Sioutista Stream–Stavros Apóskepos (3.8 km)
• Stavros Apóskepos–Bicovic Pass (5 km)

The routes range from 3.6 km for the trail from Sioutista Stream to Apóskepos to 11.6 km for the E6 section to Kraniōnas. This makes it easy to compare the listed route lengths as you coordinate your hiking plans with your choice of a holiday apartment in Aposkepos. The hiking trails near Aposkepos are considered easy to walk; the local Kastoria mountaineering club has marked them extensively with signposts and confirmation markers. As trail conditions and markings can change, check them before setting out.

Village square and traces of history

Aposkepos’s central square is cobbled and has a multi-spout fountain. Alongside the far-reaching network of trails, it offers a notable landmark right in the village. These two features give your travel plans different focuses: you can make time for the hiking trails or set aside time for the village and its central square.

At the summit, the trail first passes a solitary bunker and then a group of bunkers and shelters from the Second World War. These historic structures add another point of interest to the route, alongside the landscapes and named trails. Together with the range of route lengths, they mean Aposkepos offers more than a single hiking path: the trail network connects the village with neighbouring villages and extends to the named locations on Vitsi.

Kastoria as part of the wider destination

Kastoria offers another focus. The city is built amphitheatrically on a stretch of land surrounded by Lake Orestiada. The Greek Ministry of Culture has designated the lake a natural monument of particular beauty, and it has been included in the European Natura 2000 network for environmental protection. A short circular path around the lake passes plane trees, old mansions and churches, with views of the calm lake surface.

One of Kastoria’s cultural highlights is the custom of the Kastorian Ragoutsaria, held every year on 6, 7 and 8 January. Choose a holiday apartment based on which of these highlights you would like to shape your stay.

Discover more destinations: Aghia Triada, Vogatsiko, Nea Kotili, Argos Orestikón, Kastoria, Mesopotamia Aliakmonas, Áyios Zakharías, Korisós.

Go to the wider travel overview: Kastoria.