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PACKRAFT ON THE ARACHTOS RIVER POTAMOS GREECE EPIRUS

Packrafting in Epirus

By Packrafting.cat

February 6^th, 2025

Versión original en español: PACKRAFT EN EL RÍO ARACHTOS POTAMOS GRECIA EPIRUS ¿Potamos?

“One of the keys in whitewater is to have the body out of the water, We packrafters are the opposite of hippo(potamu)s -> hyperpotamus.”

Arachtos (Hipo)Potamos

PACKRAFT ON THE ARACHTOS RIVER POTAMOS GREECE EPIRUS

Potamos is the Greek word for river. On my solo visit to Greece, this word was on my mind a lot. One of the particular things about "solo adventures" is that your head entertains you with thoughts that may seem trivial, but at the same time are pleasant, enjoyable and certainly keep you company.

Other times the thoughts are more cochambered: the next stop after Greece was Albania, where I related the word Potamos with "potamos"/vomitamos 🤮. And I started to ruminate very hard and my paranoias came to me coming to think of Greek gods puking and thus creating our esteemed rivers.

And why such thoughts on Albania? Well, seeing some of the very dirty banks that unfortunately can be found on the Vjosa river in Albania (note: it is still very much worth a visit, I will write about it in the near future).

Yes sure some of you think I'm not very sane, a little bit pallá. 🤪

Well, now that it is my turn to put white on black, and write about the splendid Arachtos river, I have started to look for the etymology of the verb potar. The word, in the sense of vomiting, seems not to be recognized by the RAE and in fact the powerful corrector I have installed on my computer shows it underlined in red! The verb "potar" which, in its most widespread meanings, according to @laraeinforma , can mean "to equalize and mark the weights and measures" (I had no "pi" idea) or"to drink". But it is also used, in colloquial Spanish, with the sense of "to vomit".

This word comes from Latin because, in fact, in the language of Rome we have different verbs to designate the action of drinking (sorbere, haurire, exsiccare, etc.) but, among all those verbs, two stand out especially: bibere (which gives in Spanish "beber") and potare (which shares root with the Greek verb πίνω, "beber", and which has bequeathed us derivatives like "potable" = "agua apta para el consumo").

NOTE: how funny the Greeks! Why complicate your life, how else are you going to call the rivers: "bebemos"/"potamos". Ancient Greek genius.

Although both words can be translated as "to drink" and used almost interchangeably referring to the consumption of alcohol, it seems that "potare" had a stronger sense concerning "drinking alcohol" or "getting drunk" and so the great St. Isidore let us know, in his 'De Differentiis Verborum' (I.74), with that of:

'Bibere naturae est, potare luxuriae'.

And of course, from those muds, these muds...

Source: https: //www.instagram.com/p/CdZPvKmqx3l/ | Author: Alejandro Güeto

So, my friends, I wasn't so wrong, everything has the same origin and I wasn't so wrong. Maybe my madness has a touch of genius in it (the guy doesn't have a grandmother 😘).

Together with the rivers Thyamis/Kalamas, Acheronte, Voidiomatis and Kalarritikos the Arachtos river forms the set of rivers I was able to paddle on my first visit to Greece. I had planned to do many more, but my broken ankle days later in Montenegro, would truncate my 2024 summer plans (I hope to be able to return this 2025 🤞).

River (potamos) Arachtos

Now yes, after my lucubrations, which I hope that for you readers, rather than annoying, are entertaining (or at least innocuous) I will tell you about the Arachthos river.

The Arachthos (aka Arakthos, in Greek Άραχθος) is the eighth-largest river in Greece and the third largest of the main rivers of Epirus. It has a total length of 135 km. It rises in the northern Pindos and flows into the Amvrakikos Gulf.

As we have already seen in other rivers as in the Gaves and Nestes of southern France, the river during its first stretches has other names and is nourished by the waters of other tributaries changing its name several times and it is not until its confluence with the tributary Balduma (or Dipotamos) that the now common watercourse takes the name of Arachthos.

The Arachtos river has multiple navigable stretches (with the right water level). See the section Sections of this post.

In this post I explain the middle section, a section that I think is undoubtedly the most beautiful section of the Tzoumerka area, shortly after its meeting with the Kalarrytikos tributary , which I will tell you about in another post.

The upper section is a more interesting whitewater section and the lower section is an ideal area if you are looking for an easy section but with very good scenery.

The Arachthos has a rich fish fauna including wild trout, roaches and mustard fish. Arachthos is also home to populations of otters or European otters which is an indicator of the quality of its waters.

These are the stretches I have obtained information about and/or have sailed

T1 Upper Arachtos - from the bridge between Driskos & Krapsi to Ambelochori/Politsa Bridge. Milkiway Rapids. Class II+ (III-IV)
T2 Middle Arachtos - from Ambelochori Bridge/Politsa to Plaka. Classic Rafting section that runs through the beautiful gorges of the Arachtos and allows us to visit the magnificent Klifkis waterfall and observe from the river the monumental bridge of Plaka. Class II+ (III)
T3 Lower Arachtos - from Plaka to Tzaris/Skoupa bridge. Class II+

Obviously, it is possible to paddle more stretches (depending on many factors such as water level) but these are the best known ones that coincide with the area adjacent to the Tzourmerka park.

Upper Arachtos. Milkiway Clase II+ (III-IV)

Upper Arachtos - from the bridge between Driskos & Krapsi to Ambelochori Bridge/Politsa). Milkiway Section. Class II+ (III-IV)

Length:19.8 km
Vertical:148 m
Gradient:7 m/km

The place indicated in the difficulty rating is called Milkyway shortly after the bridge between Driskos & Krapsi. With higher water levels, the block slalom and final roll are more likely to be WW3-4, see photo. It is best to get off at the bridge above and follow the fishing trail to the left up the steepest section (approx. 300 m, see photo).

Start point: bridge between Driskos & Krapsi
End point: Politsa Bridge. Coincides with the starting point of the next section.

https://rivermap.org/map/?inf=606#mKy---XwxJwxj8gm6_0sh0hmA_ojG

T2 Middle Arachtos from Ambelochori Bridge/Politsa to Plaka.

Classic Rafting section that runs through the beautiful gorges of the Arachtos and allows us to visit the magnificent Klifkis waterfall and observe from the river the monumental bridge of Plaka. Class II+ (III)

DESCRIPTION

The Arachtos Gorge is located on this stretch and will leave you speechless. Depending on the water level, powerful press waters and whirlpools can form in the gorge.

Isolation: It goes without saying that there is practically no way out of the gorge along the entire stretch.

SAFETY: Two sites clearly exceed Class III at high flow levels. The first place can be carried on the right, the second place is easy to overcome in the water by the chicken line on the left.SEGURIDAD: Dos lugares superan claramente la clase III con niveles altos de caudal. El primer lugar se puede portear a la derecha, el segundo lugar es fácil de superar en el agua por la chicken line a la izquierda

En el río

Puntos quilométricos:

Km 0: Politsa ancient stone bridge, puente y punto de inicio. Playa de embarque en la orilla izquierda del río justo después del puente.
Km 2.1: Klifkis Waterfall
Km 7.7: Plaka Bridge
Km 8.7: Llegada al camping y campo base de Via Natura Rafting Tzourmerka

Starting point. Politsa ancient stone bridge

There are two options, including 3 as boarding points:

Politsa ancient stone bridge. Due to low water levels (and that it was the only option that gave me the available transport from the campsite).
Bridge between Charokopi and Kredos. This starting point takes most of the route of the upper section.
The next day I decided to go out to do the Kalarritikos River, a tributary of the Arachtos that joins its waters to the Arachtos River a few kilometers above the previous point. This is another boarding option to do both rivers.

In the photo on the left you can see the pebble beach used for boarding just after (downstream) the bridge. The beach is located on the left bank of the river. Also visible upstream from the boarding beach is the old stone bridge, the current bridge over which the road crosses and the old structure of a third bridge.

Consult the"logistics" section for more details on how to get to this point. In short, you need either two cars or use the shuttle services of the campsite in the village of Plaka.

I would say that the embarkation point is unmistakable if it were not a common trend in Greece to find multiple bridges in the same pass.

The boarding with the support of a rafting and German companions who were kayaking for the first time.

Map of the first stretch to the Klifkiswaterfall (Klifkis waterfall), these first two kilometers are not difficult, warm-up area that you should use to acclimatize and prepare for the beautiful spectacle of the gorges that we will soon have in front of our eyes. But first...

Klifkis waterfall

At kilometer point 2.2 stop at a beach on the right bank of the river.

Attention: the waterfall is not visible from the river and it is very easy to miss if you are not attentive to the GPS.

But it is not difficult to find just look for the water trail as in the photo below. Note that there are two waterfalls in the area.

Once you have found the water course that flows into the Arachthos you just have to follow a narrow and short gorge and canyoning mode to reach the foot of the waterfall.

The waterfall is also accessible by a path from the road and, therefore, is one of the few places where we can leave the deep gorge of the Arachtos River and can be a point of safety in case of need and we have to break the great isolation that has this stretch of river. From here there are no more escape points.

Jacuzzy time

The 3D view of the Wikiloc route shows you how we are surrounded by 1 km high mountains, which represents having nearby walls of approximately 700 meters high.

Soon the river will begin to narrow...

In more than one section of the Gorga you can observe the exuberance of the water falling down the limestone walls of the gorga. At some points there are small waterfalls and rock formations that remind me of the Argenteria del Congost de Collegats in the Noguera Pallaresa river.

I don't have photos or videos, but there is a very curious effect in that the water squirts out, with pressure, like a fountain or a pipe directly from the walls and if you get close enough you can refresh yourself or even drink water that feels phenomenal.

Plaka

At km 6.7 the gorge opens up and we reach a long straight stretch of 1 km with the Plaka bridge (km 7.7) on the horizon. Before reaching the bridge there is an interesting rapid without any special difficulty.

These are the views of the houses of Plaka on a pale and cloudy sunset. The area is quiet, it was a month of June and it is a rural area, with a great sense of isolation and tranquility, almost no cars on the roads and even fewer souls on the river or in the villages.

Vista de las casas de Plaka des del Plaka Bridge. Atardecer de colores pálidos.

Before reaching the bridge in the photo below, just after the main bridge on the Plaka road, at kilometer 8.7 is the disembarkation point, right in front of the campsite on the left bank of the river.

My Google Map

Packraft en Arachtos y Kalarritikos

Mapa Wikiloc

Packrafting Arachthos River and Gorges - Politsá - Katarráktēs Klíphkēs - Plaka Bridge - Frásta

Logística

The boarding bridge(Politsa ancient stone bridge) is accessed from the disembarkation point in Plaka by climbing and winding a road route of more than 20 km of road and almost 40 min by car. The almost one-kilometer difference in altitude makes the route a complicated route difficult to combine with any other logistics (walking, cycling) other than two cars. In my case, traveling alone, I hired the service of the rafting company Via Natura Rafting Tzourmerka, located in the same campsite where I was staying in Plaka. The transport service cost me 15 €. Send me a direct message (info@packrafting.cat) or ask in our WhatsApp community (see WhatsApp logo at the bottom right of the page) or comment below if you want the contact of Nikos, the best guide you can find in the area and who can provide you with transport and information to do the many rivers in the area.

Realmente realize la ruta por la orilla derecha del río, pero aproximadamente es el mismo tiempo

Eaux Vives, Rivermap...

Rivermap shows the different sections of the Arachtos:

https://rivermap.org/map/?inf=606#mKy---XwxJwxj8gm6_0sh0hmA_ojG

And also in EauxVives:

https://www.eauxvives.org/fr/rivieres/voir/Arachtos

I added this information myself as a contribution to the always useful EauxVives.org website.

Camping Via Natura Rafting Tzoumerka

Via Natura is the company of Rafting and adventure activities that I recommend both for the Arachtos River, as for the Vikos Gorge, in both rivers have a campsite nearby that makes both base of operations for rafting and kayaking. Get in touch either with a comment, email (info@packrafting.cat) or Whatsapp and I can pass you the contact of the owner, who will help you to organize your kayaking trips.

The Via Natura Rafting Tzoumerka campsite is located just at the end of the section explained in this post. It is a quiet and relaxed place, with the necessary services and a Kayaker atmosphere.

The Pindos Kayak Festival has not been held for a few years, let's see if someday someone revives it! The Pindos Kayak Festival has not been held for a few years, let's see if someday someone revives it!

See the website of https://www.toros-outdoors.de: Greece completely relaxed - The Arachthos Camp.

Bibliografia

In the camping Via Natura Rafting Tzoumerka I discovered this book that is no longer easy to buy and with very interesting information about rafting in Greece and Turkey.

On the website of Toros Outdoors you can get the book

As you can see in the photo, the book is very old, from another era when photos of half-naked women were common as advertising claims. Now, at least in my case, when I publish reels where my body is half naked is when I have more views 😂

Note in the photo at the top the dark black color of the water. I arrived at the village of Plaka on a day of heavy rain and this ravine, a tributary of the Arachtos river, was in this condition. The next day very little water was coming down. The section is under construction and I almost could not even go to visit the Plaka Bridge, in fact the path along the river bank that is normally followed to visit the bridge from the campsite was impossible to pass because it was necessary to cross this river. The only crossing point was what was left of the road that already seemed to be under construction due to problems with previous floods.

The Plaka bridge is an arched stone bridge that we will find at the end of this section of the Arachthos river, just before the village of Plaka which gives its name to the bridge. It is located at a distance of 50 km from Ioannina and connects Tzoumerka with Katsanochoria and by extension Ioannina with Arta. Built in 1866 and rebuilt in 2019, it is a single arch, with a chamber opening of 40 meters, 21 meters high and with an opening at the top of 3.2 meters impressive dimensions for a stone bridge of this type. It is considered the largest single arch bridge in the Balkans and the third largest in Europe. It collapsed three times, in 1860, 1863 and 2015, the last one after rains. After the 2015 collapse, reconstruction began soon after, the main part of which was completed on December 4, 2019.

Mini Chapels

In Greece it is common to find on the edges of any road, and often in the middle of nowhere, miniature Orthodox churches, mini chapels that are really small religious offerings that Greeks pay out of pocket usually for two reasons: The first by way of thanksgiving for having dodged death in a serious car accident and saving one's life. The second as a remembrance in places where a family member or loved one has not been able to avoid death due to a traffic accident. A tribute to that person who is no longer there, sometimes if we look inside you can find messages or photographs of that loved one. This custom has become an important warning of the most dangerous points of the Greek roads, similar to the bouquets of flowers that are seen from time to time in Spain. When we see a small chapel we pay attention and if there are many of them, we must take all our senses to the wheel, as it is sure to be a very dangerous place.

Although it must be said that I found them in places like the Plaka Bridge where no cars circulate and I guess it has become a custom to remember people.... Oops! I just realized that I hope it wasn't any suicide from the bridge 😢.

Arachtos river packraft. El río entero. Miliotádes - Katarráktēs Klíphkēs - Plaka Bridge - Délka

¡See you in the river!

"What'll you do when you get lonely

And nobody's waiting by your side?

You've been running and hiding much too long

You know it's just your foolish pride"

The river is a living environment, changing and subject to permanent development. The publishers of the river sketches and the creators of this website cannot be held responsible in any case in case of inaccuracy, omission or error in the river sketches. The topos editors and website creators disclaim all liability in case of any accident that may occur on the rivers described in this guide.