The villages of Velouchi – Fir forests that surround traditional villages

Velouchi is located between Evrytania and Phthiotis. On its slopes, which reach 2,315 metres and are covered with towering fir trees, nestle traditional villages, some popular and some lesser known, but all with their unique beauty.

Korischades

Korischades is one of the most famous villages of Evrytania. It is incredibly close to the prefecture's capital, Karpenissi, and is a beautiful traditional settlement. It stretches on a slope full of fir trees at 940 metres altitude and faces peaks.

The houses are all stone and decorated with impressive arches and balconies with carved wooden details made by artisans from Pyrsogianni and Tzoumerka.

The gathering point is the large paved square with the sycamore tree.

Here, you will also find the village's main church, Agios Athanasios, which dates back to 1865, and the National Resistance Museum, which is unfortunately temporarily closed. However, ask if it is open when you visit the village, as it is worth a look.

The walks, in addition to the alleys in the village, may also include the stream at the bottom, the one that shortly afterwards joins the Karpenisiotis River.

A beautiful uphill hike is to the chapel of Agios Ioannis on the opposite slope. The path is between the fir trees, and the view from the chapel to the village is wonderful. If you climb to the top of Paleokastro Hill, you will also see the ruins of an early Christian castle.

Stenoma

Stenoma is hidden inside an open canyon on the northwest side of Velouchi or Tymfristos, at 660 metres altitude on a slope.

It is a small village with enchanting nature, where firs, walnuts, plane trees, and oaks alternate, creating a wonderful quilt in various shades of green. Buildings with tiled roofs pop out like mushrooms in the forest.

In the majority, the houses here also follow traditional architecture, which means well-worked stone. Whichever alley you turn in the village, you will find a two-story mansion to admire. Even if it has succumbed to time, its beauty is not hidden.

It is also a beautiful walk to Pera Vrysi, a small stone fountain under tufted plane trees, and the village's old watermill.

It is a stone building with a roof covered with Byzantine-style tiles, which consists of a semi-basement arched space called "Zourio". You will also see a small stone bridge there.

Here, all the interest is in the village's quietness, nature, and getting to know the locals.

Domiani

Domiani is a mountain village at an altitude of 660 metres on the northwestern slopes of Mount Misiaka, part of the massif of Tymfristos. It has been designated as a traditional settlement since 1978.

The village, built in an amphitheatre, overlooks green slopes and high peaks. Here, it is as if time has stopped.

Old stone houses, some functional and some not, narrow cobblestones, and a nature that has done a great job putting together chestnuts, cherries, firs, plane trees, walnuts, and running water everywhere.

It is a small village that may not have museums, large squares, or sights to show, but it has incredible quietness, fantastic nature, and picturesqueness.

The only attraction other than nature in Domiani is the Holy Dormition Monastery or Panagia Domianitissa, which has impressive interior decoration, as it has interesting frescoes from 1787 in Byzantine style. It's worth a walk there.

Moreover, it is only a few metres away from the village centre. It is even said that the village's name is a paraphrase of the name of the monastery's first monk, Damianos.

Mavrilo

Mavrilo is also one of Velouchi's lesser-known villages. It is perched at an altitude of 920 metres on its eastern sides.

Although it belongs administratively to Fthiotida, it is much closer to the capital of the prefecture of Evrytania and is worth visiting if you go to Karpenissi.

Initially, its name was Koryfes, however, during the Ottoman Empire, it was renamed to Mavrilo, with differing opinions on the origin of the name.

One says its name is from the fact that it is a place where black matter is produced, namely gunpowder, as the village had gunpowder mills, while the other says it got its name from the dark forests, mainly fir, that surround Mavrilo.

Be that as it may, it does not change the beauty of the village, which is full of traditional houses, springs and streams, and, of course, stunning greenery with fir oaks and chestnut trees.

The village is also one of the Politochoria of Velouchi, i.e. one of the villages whose residents migrated to Constantinople for a better life, but without forgetting their families to whom they sent money and thanks to whom the settlements remained alive.

The village's highlight is the renovated gunpowder mill located very close to the square. It is now a museum (it can be visited by appointment at tel.: 2236031854).

Between the 18th and 19th centuries, around 12 gunpowder mills operated in the village,

Another attraction is the post-Byzantine church of Agios Dimitrios, which dates from the beginning of the 18th century and has remarkable frescoes. Just before entering the village, take a look at the small but beautiful single-arched stone bridge.

Many trails start from the village, the most difficult of which is the one that climbs to the top of Velouchi.

Agia Triada

The beautiful village of Agia Triada is at an altitude of 800 metres north of Timphristos. Here, nature is rich with firs, chestnuts, walnuts, apple trees, and running water.

The houses, some old stone and some more modern, with well-kept small gardens, add their own touch to the village's character. In the winter, when the Velouchi Ski Centre is open, the village is filled with people.

The meeting point is the paved square with the plane tree and the stone fountain. From here, you will start the village walks. You will reach the church of Agia Triada from 1850, admire the view, and return to the centre of the village to stop at the taverna for local delicacies.

In the village, you will also see the Holy Church of Agios Vissarion, built in 1884, with its beautiful wood-carved iconostasis.

But don't stop at the walks inside the village. Reach the water mill, the wild trout fish farm in the river, and the monastery of Prophet Ilias, which was built by the hieromonk Gabriel in 1760.

Note that a nice hiking trail starts from the water mill in Mantania and ends a little before the monastery.

Voula Akrivaki is a columnist for Travel. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.

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