The place


The pilot event of Pindos Trophy, takes place in the area of Pindos Mountains and, for this yearm around Meteora area.
The route stretches all over Trikala prefecture in Greece.




Pindos mountain range


Pindos mountain range is located in northern Greece and is the biggest mountain range in the country. The mountain range stretches from near the Greek-Albanian borders in Northern Epirus, entering Epirus and Macedonia regions in northern Greece, down to the north of the Peloponnese. It is roughly 160 km long, with a maximum elevation of 2,637 m (Mount Smolikas) and is considered to be the backbone of mainland Greece.

Pindos mountains are the extension of the European Alps on the Greek grounds, from geological aspect, and this volcanic mountain range dates back 65.000.000 years.
Pindos mountains are full of steep slopes and deep canyons, while four rivers source from them. Arachthos, Aoos, Acheloos and Pinios.

Pinios river, flowing through the region of Meteora, is the third longest river in Greece (215km).




Pindos Trophy - Pilot Event 2013 - The clifs of Meteora




Meteora


Meteora (Greek: Μετέωρα, lit. "middle of the sky", "suspended in the air" or "in the heavens above" — etymologically related to "Meteorite") is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece, second only to Mount Athos.




The Cliffs of Meteora


Studies suggest that the pinnacles were formed about 60 million years ago during the Paleocene. Then weathering and earthquakes formed them into their present shape.
Beside Pindos Mountains, at the western region of the Thessaly plain in the middle of northern Greece, these sandstone rocks rise from the ground. The rocks are composed of a mixture of sandstone and conglomerate. A series of earth movements pushed the seabed upwards, creating a high plateau and causing many fault lines to appear in the thick layer of sandstone.

Continuous weathering by water, wind and temperatures extremes turned them into huge rock pillars, marked by horizontal lines which geologists maintain were made by the waters of a prehistoric sea.

Greek historian Herodotus wrote in the 5th century BC that local people believed the plain of Thessaly had once been a sea. If this was accurate, there was most probably an inundation at the end of the last Ice Age, around 8000 BC.

Theopetra cave, 5 kilometres south of Meteora, hading inhabitants fifty millennia ago.

The oldest known example of a man-made structure was found within a prehistoric cave in central Greece. The structure is a stone wall that blocked two-thirds of the entrance to the Theopetra cave near Kalambaka on the north edge of the Thessalian plain.

It was constructed 23,000 years ago, probably as a barrier to cold winds. “An optical dating test, known as Optically Stimulated Luminescence, was applied on quartz grains nested within the stones.” Nikolaos Zacharias, director of the laboratory of archaeometry at the University of Peloponnese, told Discovery News. According to a statement by the ministry of culture, “the dating matches the coldest period of the most recent ice age, indicating that the cavern’s inhabitants built the stone wall to protect themselves from the cold.”

Excavated since 1987, Theopetra cave is well known to palaeontologists as it was used and inhabited continuously from the Palaeolithic period onwards (50,000 to 5,000 years ago).

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteora






Pindos Trophy - Position of Meteora in Greece
Position of Meteora in Greece





Reach the place





From Western Europe


If you are coming from Western Europe, the best route is through Ancona port, using Superfast Ferries (www.superfast.com), partner of the event. Superfast provides special prices for Pindos Trophy Pilot Event. Please contact us for the way of booking with special prices.
Disembarking in Igoumenitsa port, you will drive 170km, reaching the town of Kalampaka, under the rocks of Meteora.

Proposed plan:
24/10 13:30, depart from Ancona Port – Italy with Superfast.com
25/10 08:00 arrive at Igoumenitsa Port and then drive 170 km (120km highway) - apx 2 hours to Meteora.

29/10 evening,  depart from Meteora and then drive 170km (120km highway) - apx 2.5 hours - to Igoumenitsa port
29/10 23:30 depart from Igoumenitsa port with Superfast.com
30/10 16:00 arrive to Ancona Port - Italy


Distances from major Europe cities to Ancona Italy:
Amsterdam – Ancona: 1480 km (1420km of highway) – apx 16 hours
Brussels – Ancona: 1310 km (1230km of highway) – apx 14 hours
Budapest – Ancona: 1050km (1010km of highway) – apx 11 hours
London – Ancona: 1630km (1430 km of highway) – apx 17 hours
Madrid – Ancona: 1950km (1920km of highway) – apx 19 hours
Munich – Ancona: 775km (750km of highway) – apx 8 hours
Paris – Ancona: 1280km (1220km of highway) – apx 13 hours
Rome – Ancona: 300km (295 km of highway) – apx 3.5 hours
Vienna – Ancona: 930km (850 km of highway) – apx 10 hours
Zagreb – Ancona: 726km (700km on highway) – apx 8 hours





From Eastern Europe


From Turkey, follow the highway Istanbul, Ferres – Egnatia – Thessaloniki – Veria – Kozani - Grevena – Kalampaka (830km including 529km of highway – apx 10 hours driving).

From Romania, head to Bucharest – Sofia – Thessaloniki – Veria – Kozani - Grevena – Kalampaka (920km including 320km on highway – apx 14 hours)

From Bulgaria, head to Sofia - Thessaloniki – Veria – Kozani - Grevena – Kalampaka (520km including 245km of highway – apx 8 hours)

Copyright 2013 Pindos-Trophy.com. All rights reserved.