Tymfi
Tymfi or Tymphe, Timfi, also Tymphi (, ) is a mountain in the northern Pindus mountain range, northwestern Greece. It is part of the regional unit of Ioannina and lies in the region of Zagori, just a few metres south of the 40° parallel. Tymfi forms a massif with its highest peak, Gamila, at . The massif of Tymfi includes in its southern part the Vikos Gorge, while they both form part of the Vikos–Aoös National Park which accepts over 100,000 visitors per year. The former municipality of the same name owed its name to the mountain. It also gave  its name to the ancient land known as Tymphaea and to the Tymphaeans, one of the tribes in Ancient Epirus. Etymology. Τύμφη is transliterated in many similar forms: Tymfi, Tymphe, Timfi, or Tymphi. The exact meaning of the name is not known but has been in use since ancient times. The name "Tymphe" or "Stymphe" is mentioned by ancient geographer Strabo and it is said that the mountain gave its name to the ancient area of Tymphaea and the ancient tribe which inhabited it. The etymology of the mountain's peaks are mainly of Greek origin. The highest peak Gamíla  (, ) means camel in Greek; Karterós (, ) means mighty or powerful; Megála Lithária (, ) literally means big rocks in Greek; Astráka (, ) is the Greek word for gutter; and Lápato (, ) is the Greek word for sorrel. Some peaks with non-Greek etymologies include the mountain's 3rd highest peak Goúra (, ) which comes from the Albanian word meaning rock; and Tsoúka Róssa (, ) which means "red peak" in Aromanian. Geography. The mountain is surrounded by various massifs that also form part of the northern Pindus mountain range. Northeast of Tymfi lies the highest mountain of Pindus, Smolikas. The mountain of Trapezitsa lies to the north, Lygkos  to the east and Mitsikeli to the south. The Aoos river flows to the north and its tributary Voidomatis to the southwest. Vikos Gorge is formed by the latter to the southwestern side of the mountain. The length of the mountain is approximately 20 to 25 km with a direction from east to west and its width is approximately 15 km from north to south. The southern and southeastern slopes of the mountain are comparatively smooth. The north side, however, forms cliffs reaching , whereas the western side is equally steep since the mountain is fragmented by Vikos Gorge. The massif  includes several peaks that stand above 2400m. From west to east the most prominent are the following: Astraka, , Ploskos, , Gamila, , Gamila ΙΙ, , Karteros, , Megala Litharia, , Tsouka Rossa, , and Gkoura, . With the exception of Astraka, the peaks are arranged from north to northeast with their southern slopes forming a plateau. Astraka, being the only peak located to the south, dominates that plateau with its north face. A mountain hut named , which operates during the summer months, is located at the mountain pass between the peaks of Astraka and Lapatos at 1930m of altitude. Several lakes are formed on the  mountain some of whom drain during the summer. From those that maintain water around the year the most famous is Drakolimni (lit. "Dragon lake" in Greek), a formation that was created after the retreat of the glaciers. It is located at a height of northwest of Ploskos. Its maximum depth is , while its surface covers . Geology. Mount Tymfi represents a series of uplifted fault blocks and faulted escarpments and is largely composed of Palaeocene-Eocene limestone, with some exposures of Campanian-Jurassic dolomite and limestone on the northern scarp. The lower slopes are dominated by younger flysch rocks, which consist  of thin beds of graded sandstones intercalated with softer, fissile siltstones. Extended glacial conditions prevailed on the uplands of Mount Tymfi during the Late Quaternary period, ca. 28,000 years ago. The glacial landscape is well-developed, especially on the southern slopes of Mount Tymfi, across the Astraka-Gamila plateau, and in the upland terrain above the villages of Skamneli and Tsepelovo, where lateral and terminal moraines form major landscape features. Additional forms of glacial deposits, which extend down to above sea level, include rock glaciers and limestone pavements. A number of vertical caves and precipices are found in the area  around the village of Papingo, which lies near Gamila and Astraka peaks. Some of them bear names inspired from mythology, such as the "Hole of Odysseus" and "Chasm of Epos". These are being studied and explored by caving enthusiasts. The cave of "Provatina" (Lit. "Ewe's Cave"), with a depth of , one of the deepest in the world, was first discovered in 1965 by British speleologists of the Cambridge University Caving Club, and has since then been surveyed by a large number of expeditions. The nearby "Chasm of Epos", with a depth of , drains the water coming from the surrounding  plateaus. Climate. There is no meteorological station at the mountain itself and the closest one is located at the village of Papingo. The overall climate of the Vikos–Aoös National Park which includes the mountain is Mediterranean, transitioning to continental. The Mediterranean character is characterized by the annual distribution of precipitation, high in the winter months and experiencing a drought period of two to three months in summer. The continental climatic element is attributed to the high amplitude of annual temperature variation, to such a degree that the difference between mean maximum and mean minimum annual temperature, exceeds . Extremely low  temperatures occur in the area during the winter months. Compared to Mediterranean bioclimatic divisions, the area belongs to the humid zone with cold winters. Conditions in the mountain might be significantly different from those of lower regions in the same area. Winters are particularly harsh and the mountain is covered in snow from autumn until late May. Αccess. The mountain is located at the Zagori region and the nearest settlements are mainly villages. Iliochori, Vrysochori and Laista lie to the east, Skamneli and Tsepelovo to the south, and Papingo and Vikos to the west and southwest respectively. Facilities in the  aforementioned villages vary, but most of them offer restaurants and accommodation services. The nearest town is Konitsa to the northwest. The closest city with an airport is Ioannina, approximately 60 km south of Papingo. The coach service from Ioannina offers seven daily coaches to Konitsa and two weekly services to Papingo (on Fridays) as of 2011. The GR-20 (Kozani - Siatista - Ioannina) passes close to the western, northwestern and north sides of the mountain. Wildlife. Most of the mountain, with the exception of its southernmost part around the peak of Astraka, forms part of the Vikos–Aoös National Park. The park  is a designated protected area and visitors should be aware of the limitations to activities imposed by the law. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) runs an information centre in the village of Papingo. Tymfi holds the largest recorded population of Balkan chamois deer ("Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica") in Greece, with a population between 120-130 individuals out of an estimated national population between 477–750. Although chamois is registered as least concern in IUCN's red list, the subspecies "balcanica" numbers some thousands of individuals and its populations are believed to be declining. According to the Hellenic Ornithological Society mount  Tymfi along with the neighbouring mountain Smolikas are important regions for breeding birds of prey, alpine and forest dwelling bird species. The Egyptian vulture, short-toed snake eagle, rufous-tailed rock-thrush breed in the region, whereas species such as the golden eagle, red-billed chough, rock partridge, alpine chough, wallcreeper, white-winged snowfinch and the alpine accentor are sedentary. Alpine reptilian and amphibian species are also present. "Vipera ursinii" lives in the mountain's subalpine meadows and is considered a threatened taxon. The amphibian alpine newts ("Triturus Alpestris"), living in the alpine lakes of the mountain, mostly in and  around Drakolimni, are associated with local folktales of dragons and dragon battles. Yellow-bellied toads ("Bombina variegata") are also common in that same area. Ascent routes. The simplest and most commonly used route of ascent is the one beginning at the village of Mikro Papingo, located at the western side of the mountain at an altitude of . The trail that leads to the Astraka mountain hut, is approximately 6 km long. It is part of the Greek national trail O3 and is generally well marked with signs (red diamond on white) and red dots and arrows on rocks and tree  trunks. From the hut, the hikers might either head northeast to the drakolimni alpine lake for another 2.8 km or southeast to reach Gamila peak, which is the highest peak of the mountain at for another 6 km. In both cases there are no signposts and the hikers should solely rely on red dots marked on rocks or scarce small signs attached to wooden poles. The hike from Papingo to the hut lasts between 2–3 hours and the round-trip from the hut to drakolimni another 2 hours. The mountain is also accessible from other surrounding villages but the trails  are longer and the terrain rougher and steeper. Therefore, they are suggested for more experienced hikers. From the village of Vrysochori at the eastern side of the mountain, a trail of 12.8 km leads to Gamila peak through the Karteros Pass. From the village of Vradeto to the south of the mountain the trail to the peak is approximately 14.9 km. Trails that lead to the mountain can also be followed from Konitsa and Tsepelovo. Those routes are poorly and scarcely marked, mostly by dots of red paint on rocks, and are in some cases unclear and covered by vegetation . Climbing. The first recorded climb of the mountain was made on 7–8 June 1956 by Giorgos Michailidis and Giorgos Xanthopoulos who climbed the face of Gamila. Four years later, on 25–26 August 1960, Guido Magnone and Spyros Antypas climbed the northeastern face of Gamila. Currently there are 17 climbing fields on the mountain, covering most of the major peaks and other geological features of the mountain. From the aforementioned fields, the northeastern face of Gamila counts 8 climbing routes, and Gamila II 6. The fields of Astraka and Tsouka Rossa have several climbing routes each. The former counts 30 routes  in both its northwestern and northeastern faces, and the latter 19 routes. Potential climbers should take into account that several of the routes were first ascended several years ago and thus pitons might be compromised if present at all. Furthermore, some locations in the mountain are isolated and rescue services might find it particularly challenging to access the area in case of emergency.