Northern Greece is a land of enchantment, where history crashes into the present and every step is a journey into the long-since past. Northern Greece has been home to dozens of cultures throughout history, and they have each left their mark on the landscape.

Ottoman domes rise above villages; Christian monasteries sit perched on the Epirus Mountain’s dramatic spires, and Macedonian, Greek, and Roman ruins lie scattered throughout the forests. Thessaloniki, the locus and regional capital of Northern Greece, was founded in 300 BC and named after the sister of Alexander the Great, the wife of the city’s founder.

Today, Northern Greece is the perfect getaway. A land still shrouded in mystery and sheltered from mainstream tourism, a trek through Northern Greece is the most authentic way to experience Greece. Hiking in the region is varied and entertaining, with the Epirus mountains representing the primary draw. These limestone ridges begin in the foothills with nearly perfectly vertical spires that grow into sweeping limestone fins as they climb towards the summit of Mount Smolikas, the highest point in the Epirus. Culturally, this region remains isolated, with the heritage of the local inhabitants drawn to the nomadic shepherds that inhabited the mysterious mountains, rather than the many great civilizations that passed through their high passes. The cuisine and architecture of the region, however, have adopted many characteristics of past empires, such as Greek baking, Ottoman art and architecture, and a broad Mediterranean cuisine which is accented by more rustic alpine stylings.