Grammos

Gramos mountain is located in West Macedonia, near the Greek and Albanian borders. Its highest peak is 2.520 meters. It is also part of the northern Pindus Mountain Range, which runs between the Greek cities of Kastoria and Ioannina and the Albanian city of Kolonj.

The Gramos is located on the boundary of Albania's Kolonj district and Greece's Ioannina and Kastoria regional units. At its highest point, three ridges meet and run north, southwest, and east. The river Osum empties into the Gramos in the west, the Devoll empties into the northwest, the Aliakmonas empties into the northeast, and the Sarantaporos empties into the south. The Gramos is sparsely populated, with Ersek (Albania) at its western foot serving as the only significant town. Gramos (northeast), Aetomilitsa (southeast), Starje (west), and Plikati (east) are other mountain communities (south). The Smolikas to the south, Voio to the east, and Ostrovic to the northwest are nearby mountain ranges.

At an altitude of 2.350 meters, this mountain has an alpine lake, which is the largest in Greece. Low temperatures cause the lake to freeze in the winter. According to folklore, a dragon used to live in Gramos village, but when the inhabitants hunted it down, it released a small tear, which formed the small dragon lake, and then a larger tear, which formed the main lake. The mountain was a major communist stronghold in the Greek Civil War. The provisional democratic government had its headquarters in the vicinity. It fell to the national government only in 1949, bringing the near conclusion of the Greek Civil war since after its fall only isolated pockets were left in communist control. The mountain still has live minefields from the civil war despite decades of demining and access to parts of the mountain is perilous. In the wider region, you can also visit the Museum dedicated to the Greek Civil War.

Location: the border of Albania and Greece

Elevation: 2,520 m

Range: the northern Pindus Mountain