The vertiginous cliffs of the Vikos Gorge form the backdrop as arching stone bridges of Zagori stand proudly over pristine blue waters and morning mist descends from the mountains to mingle with smoke rising from the chimneys of the village-square kafeneia. It is the scenery of rugged, wild beauty, where human intervention and nature blend in a seamless symphony of stone, forest and water.
This is the Epirotic landscape, and to the minds of most Greeks, it is as familiar as any Cycladic village, with stone kalderimia and whitewashed houses with blue doors forming an equal part of the country’s multifaceted scenery. It is less well know to visitors from abroad however, who might find these images hard to reconcile with their picture of Greece as a setting of sun-drenched beaches, ancient temples and caldera sunsets.
And yet this past August, a BBC feature on Zagorochoria cited the region as one of the country’s most spectacular and culturally rich locales, bringing what was once a well-kept secret to more of the world.
Where did this newfound interest come from?
At least part of it can be attributed to the efforts of individuals who believe the narrative can and should be expanded to include this side of Greece, not necessarily for the masses but for the type of travelers who can appreciate a kind of authenticity that does not wish to be disturbed. These are travelers willing to fit into the rhythms of the locals rather than expecting the locals to fit around them.
One such individual is Stephanie Contomichalos, the founder of Nefeli Nine Retreats, a yoga and hiking holiday that highlights the wealth of nature and culture found on the Greek mountainside, and whose Zagorochoria trekking adventure the BBC journalist joined and wrote about in her article.
Suitably, Contomichalos’ life path has been as winding as the mountain trails she now leads her visitors along. Born in London to a Greek-Lebanese father and a mother who was part Italian, Palestinian, and Armenian, she spent her early years moving between Italy, France, and the United States before finally arriving in Greece, which she has since made her permanent home.
Ending up here was a fortunate coincidence: At the time, the loss of her US visa forced Contomichalos to relocate to Athens. Almost immediately, however, she was met with a feeling she found herself unable to argue with: that in Greece she felt more at home than anywhere else she had ever lived.
For Contomichalos, having a base meant anything but sitting still. Through her travels around the country, she found herself in a constant state of awe at the diverse landscapes and endless opportunities for discovery. Contomichalos also realized that she had a unique perspective: both that of an “outsider,” seeing Greece with fresh eyes, and that of an insider, shaped by her upbringing in Greek culture and heritage.
This motivated her to share her discoveries with others, and from that Nefeli Nine Retreats was born, the name being a wordplay on “Cloud Nine,” in a state of absolute bliss.
So what are Nefeli Nine retreats?
A visitor on the Nefeli Nine website will be met with the following description: “A luxury fitness holiday that will invigorate your life and the way you live it.” Essentially, however, the retreats are a week of hiking, yoga, exploration, and cultural immersion, showcasing the mountainous side of Greece, from Pilio to Agrafa, Zagorochoria, and, most recently, Crete.
There is an underlying philosophy to all this, and it is based on the blue zone principles. For those unfamiliar with the concept, it is a set of lifestyle principles associated with exceptional longevity that was popularized in 2004 by Dan Buettner, a fellow of the National Geographic Society, through a widely read National Geographic cover story. Based on research in long-lived communities such as Ikaria, these principles highlight everyday habits linked to longevity, including natural daily movement, a largely plant-based diet, strong social connections, regular stress reduction, and moderate, balanced living.
After some Covid-related stops and starts, Contomichalos has been quietly leading these retreats for around five years, until the BBC feature shone a spotlight on both her and the region.
“It was a really interesting article, in that it kind of laid the path that shows people that there is something beyond the islands and the beaches, and that Greece has something different to offer,” Contomichalos says. But there were some other unexpected reactions to it as well.
“What surprised me initially was the amount of Greeks contacting me who were wanting to visit this part of Greece that they just didn’t know about,” she notes. “The Greeks that I’ve had who came on the trip have just been so blown away by what this country has to offer, beyond what they were aware of.”
The feature has gone a long way to introducing Nefeli Nine Retreats to a whole new audience, but more than that, it introduced to people outside of the country to the heretofore unheard of concept of a mountainous Greece.
“It’s not like people don’t know that Greece has mountains, it’s that they really have no idea there are so many,” Contomichalos says. “And they’re kind of astonished to find out that 70-80% of the country is mountainous. It’s a side of Greece that is not known.”
Their relative obscurity also comes with an added bonus: peace and quiet. “Unless you’re in Olympus, when you’re in the mountains in Greece you’re on your own, which is something so spectacular and something that is very hard to find anywhere else.” That may be something we Greeks take for granted, but that is not always the case. “I did a section of the Mont Blanc circuit a couple years ago and I was stunned by how many people there were,” Contomichalos adds. “I didn’t feel like I was hiking. I felt like I was in town, there were so many people.”
Peace and quiet are also among the main reasons Contomichalos’ retreats are purposefully kept small, with the group never exceeding 10 people (consisting of Contomichalos, five to seven guests, a hiking guide, and a yoga instructor), offering a stark contrast to the images of mass-produced tourism packages and overcrowded cruise ships that many have come to associate with a particular kind of Greek tourism marketed to foreigners.
Reflecting on any insights she would share with the mass tourism industry, Contomichalos says: “I think the mass tourism industry in Greece shows one very specific side of the country. You’ve got ancient Greece with the archaeological sites, and then you have ‘Mykonos Greece.’ And I think you miss so much of what this country actually has to offer.”
But then an inevitable conflict arises: “What I’m trying to show people is not something that is for mass tourism. I want to show people the authentic side of Greece, the people, the villages, the food. People have no idea about the extent of our cuisine. They don’t know that we have any cheeses beyond feta. So the question becomes: How do you bridge that gap without disturbing authentic Greece?”
Speaking of authenticity, a concept many tourism professionals now peddle with varying degrees of success, when it comes to modern travel and lifestyle trends it is hard not to notice that Nefeli Nine sits at the intersection of many buzzwords. These words include: wellness, mindfulness, sustainability, authenticity, plant-based, blue zones, and so on. Contomichalos admits this is something she has definitely reckoned with, especially when she was starting out.
“I think it’s something that I really struggled with in the beginning, trying to fit into a certain kind of bracket or concept or idea,” she says. “And the reality is that I’m now in year five of this, and it’s grown in a very organic and natural way toward things that I want to show more of. I only sell something that I live. I don’t want to sell anything that isn’t genuine to me because I wouldn’t know how to sell it,” she adds.
Her guests are mainly foreign, many of them hailing from the UK or the United States: They are solo travelers, generally over 40, interested in the experience of discovery and adventure, sure. But a closer look will reveal that the biggest draw for a majority of them is the promise of escape.
In fact, one could say that Nefeli Nine Retreats bring the Greek expression – or maybe more of an exasperated cry – “θα πάρω τα βουνά,” (“I’ll head for the hills,” or in this case, more suitably, the mountains), to life. Imagine a week where you’re whisked away from the chaos and stress of daily life and placed in a beautiful guesthouse right in the heart of nature, where every major decision is taken out of your hands and your only “obligation” is to show up for yoga and a daily hike (and even that is optional if you don’t feel up for it). Visitors on the Nefeli Nine website are even met with the following promise: “The only decision you have to make when you’re with us is whether you want coffee or tea.”
“That’s what I want to focus on with these retreats: taking people out of their world for a week and looking after them,” Stephanie says. “That’s really key for me. I get a lot of people going through burnout and stress – it’s something that affects everyone.”
It’s admittedly a rather attractive prospect: taking your hands off the wheel for a few days. There’s an interesting contradiction to it, however. Hiking and yoga – the two main activities at the heart of every retreat – are, at their core, mindfulness practices. Mindfulness, by its very definition, is a state of presence. How is that reconciled with the need to escape?
“Not having to think about anything you have to do during the week is already a big step, a big weight off your chest. It gives you space to kind of think about things,” Stephanie notes. So it’s not necessarily about escaping oneself, but rather the noise. By switching off all outside interference and focusing only on the thoughts and sensations of the present moment, the hope is that guests will discover a mental path to their real wants and needs; one that can eventually help them navigate the stressful situations waiting back home. Are these types of breakthroughs part of the package? “I can’t make promises,” Contomichalos says. “What I can do is hold space for people.”
And that seems to be more than enough for Nefeli Nine guests, many of whom are repeat visitors, returning time and time again to discover something new or experience a different part of Greece. That doesn’t mean, however, that even with the newfound influx of visitors, major changes are on the horizon when it comes to the Nefeli Nine experience: “I think, in its concept, it would stay very much the same. It’s a formula that works,” Stephanie says. “I mean, I would love to have a bigger team and, maybe way down the road, a space of my own where I can host people and run my retreats. I’d like to create a base for myself, but also still have alternatives for traveling around the country. It’s nice to be able to show people different sides of Greece.”
Eva Papadaki is a writer and media professional whose work explores culture, travel and everyday life in places near and far.
