Opening Greece’s mountains to the world, a handful of visitors at a time

The vertiginous cliffs of the Vikos Gorge form the backdrop as arching stone bridges of Zagori stand proudly over pristine blue waters and morning mist descends from the mountains to mingle with smoke rising from the chimneys of the village-square kafeneia. It is the scenery of rugged, wild beauty, where human intervention and nature blend in a seamless symphony of stone, forest and water. This is the Epirotic landscape, and to the minds of most Greeks, it is as familiar as any Cycladic village, with stone kalderimia and whitewashed houses with blue doors forming an equal part of the country’s multifaceted scenery.

It is less well know to visitors from abroad however, who might find these images hard to reconcile with their picture of Greece as a setting of sun-drenched beaches, ancient temples and caldera sunsets. And yet this past August, a BBC feature on Zagorochoria cited the region as one of the country’s most spectacular and culturally rich locales, bringing what was once a well-kept secret to more of the world. Where did this newfound interest come from?

At least part of it can be attributed to the efforts of individuals who believe the narrative can and should be expanded to include this side of Greece, not necessarily for the masses but for the type of travelers who can appreciate a kind of authenticity that does not wish to be disturbed. These are travelers willing to fit into the rhythms of the locals rather than expecting the locals to fit around them. One such individual is Stephanie Contomichalos, the founder of Nefeli Nine Retreats, a yoga and hiking holiday that highlights the wealth of nature and culture found on the Greek mountainside, and whose Zagorochoria trekking adventure the BBC journalist joined and wrote about in her article.

Suitably, Contomichalos’ life path has been as winding as the mountain trails she now leads her visitors along. Born in London to a Greek-Lebanese father and a mother who was part Italian, Palestinian, and Armenian, she spent her early years moving between Italy, France, and the United States before finally arriving in Greece, which she has since made her permanent home. Ending up here was a fortunate coincidence: At the time, the loss of her US visa forced Contomichalos to relocate to Athens.

Almost immediately, however, she was met with a feeling she found herself unable to argue with: that in Greece she felt more at home than anywhere else she had ever lived. For Contomichalos, having a base meant anything but sitting still. Through her travels around the country, she found herself in a constant state of awe at the diverse landscapes and endless opportunities for discovery.

Contomichalos also realized that she had a unique perspective: both that of an “outsider,” seeing Greece with fresh eyes, and that of an insider, shaped by her upbringing in Greek culture and heritage. This motivated her to share her discoveries with others, and from that Nefeli Nine Retreats was born, the name being a wordplay on “Cloud Nine,” in a state of absolute bliss. So what are Nefeli Nine retreats?

A visitor on the Nefeli Nine website will be met with the following description: “A luxury fitness holiday that will invigorate your life and the way you live it.” Essentially, however, the retreats are a week of hiking, yoga, exploration, and cultural immersion, showcasing the mountainous side of Greece, from Pilio to Agrafa, Zagorochoria, and, most recently, Crete. There is an underlying philosophy to all this, and it is based on the blue zone principles.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, it is a set of lifestyle principles associated with exceptional longevity that was popularized in 2004 by Dan Buettner, a fellow of the National Geographic Society, through a widely read National Geographic cover story. Based on research in long-lived communities such as Ikaria, these principles highlight everyday habits linked to longevity, including natural daily movement, a largely plant-based diet, strong social connections, regular stress reduction, and moderate, balanced living. After some Covid-related stops and starts, Contomichalos has been quietly leading these retreats for around five years, until the BBC feature shone a spotlight on both her and the region.

“It was a really interesting article, in that it kind of laid the path that shows people that there is something beyond the islands and the beaches, and that Greece has something different to offer,” Contomichalos says. But there were some other unexpected reactions to it as well.

“What surprised me initially was the amount of Greeks contacting me who were wanting to visit this part of Greece that they just didn’t know about,” she notes.

“The Greeks that I’ve had who came on the trip have just been so blown away by what this country has to offer, beyond what they were aware of.” The feature has gone a long way to introducing Nefeli Nine Retreats to a whole new audience, but more than that, it introduced to people outside of the country to the heretofore unheard of concept of a mountainous Greece.

“It’s not like people don’t know that Greece has mountains, it’s that they really have no idea there are so many,” Contomichalos says.

“And they’re kind of astonished to find out that 70-80% of the country is mountainous. It’s a side of Greece that is not known.” Their relative obscurity also comes with an added bonus: peace and quiet.

“Unless you’re in Olympus, when you’re in the mountains in Greece you’re on your own, which is something so spectacular and something that is very hard to find anywhere else.” That may be something we Greeks take for granted, but that is not always the case.

“I did a section of the Mont Blanc circuit a couple years ago and I was stunned by how many people there were,” Contomichalos adds.

“I didn’t feel like I was hiking. I felt like I was in town, there were so many people.” Peace and quiet are also among the main reasons Contomichalos’ retreats are purposefully kept small, with the group never exceeding 10 people (consisting of Contomichalos, five to seven guests, a hiking guide, and a yoga instructor), offering a stark contrast to the images of mass-produced tourism packages and overcrowded cruise ships that many have come to associate with a particular kind of Greek tourism marketed to foreigners.

Reflecting on any insights she would share with the mass tourism industry, Contomichalos says: “I think the mass tourism industry in Greece shows one very specific side of the country. You’ve got ancient Greece with the archaeological sites, and then you have ‘Mykonos Greece.’ And I think you miss so much of what this country actually has to offer.”

But then an inevitable conflict arises: “What I’m trying to show people is not something that is for mass tourism. I want to show people the authentic side of Greece, the people, the villages, the food. People have no idea about the extent of our cuisine.

They don’t know that we have any cheeses beyond feta.