{"id":8890,"date":"2024-08-26T13:40:26","date_gmt":"2024-08-26T13:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/?p=8890"},"modified":"2024-08-26T14:10:25","modified_gmt":"2024-08-26T14:10:25","slug":"dragonlake-and-summit-of-smolikas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/hiking-trails\/dragonlake-and-summit-of-smolikas\/","title":{"rendered":"Conquering Dragon Lake and the Summit of Smolikas: An Unforgettable Hiking Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our hike to Dragon Lake and the summit of Smolikas began at 10 in the morning from the Smolikas refuge, which is situated at an altitude of 1750 meters. There are two options: either hike <\/strong>from Palioseli <\/strong>to the refuge <\/strong>and then continue to Dragon Lake, or drive close<\/strong> to the refuge <\/strong>and start from there<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\u0388\u03be\u03c9<\/a>
Outside the refuge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\u03a3\u03c4\u03bf<\/a>
Inside the reguge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The road is gravel, and a regular car can reach about 300 meters from the refuge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The view in the beginning of the path<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The trail from the refuge to Dragon Lake is uphill and passes through forests of black pines, beeches, and oaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the path to Dragon Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After about an hour and a half of hiking, we reach 2,000 meters, where the landscape opens up and the vegetation becomes sparse, as we are in the alpine zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\u039c\u03b5<\/a>
With a view of the summit of Smolikas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before us rises the summit of Smolikas at 2,637 meters, while behind us, the imposing Timfi mountain range can be seen, resembling a painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\u039c\u03b5<\/a>
With a view of the Timfi mountain range<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A little later, after approximately 3.5 kilometers, our trail intersects with the one that starts from the village of Pades and also leads to Dragon Lake. From this point on, the two routes merge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\u038c\u03bc\u03bf\u03c1\u03c6\u03b5\u03c2<\/a>
Beautiful moments just before Dragon Lake<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After about 2 hours of hiking from the refuge, we reach the enchanting Dragon Lake. We take a short break for photos and food, and then continue towards the summit of Smolikas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The trail is of moderate difficulty and particularly steep. Although it was summer, the weather conditions were favorable with a temperature around 25 degrees and cloud cover, which made the ascent easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impressive views throughout the entire trail were a unique experience. After about an hour, we reach the summit, although in different weather conditions, the ascent might take longer due to the steep incline of the path near the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\u0397<\/a>
\\the view from the summit of Smolikas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The path (from the refuge) is clearly marked and well-signposted, with a total duration of about 3 to 3.5 hours for the 7 kilometers of the trail. It is a wonderful hiking route that can be comfortably completed in a single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\u0395\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03c1\u03ad\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2<\/a>
On our way back to the refuge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Embark on a stunning hike from the Smolikas refuge to Dragon Lake and the summit, through alpine landscapes and breathtaking views.\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[243,23,244],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hiking-trails","category-featured-en","category-konitsa-en","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8890"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8892,"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8890\/revisions\/8892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epirusexplorer.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}