Drakolimni ( el, Δρακολίμνη, "Dragon Lake") is the name of several alpine or sub-alpine

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s in northwestern Greece Epirus region: the ones in mountain

Tymfi Tymphe (in Latin and English usage) or Tymfi (in the Greek government's preferred transliteration), Timfi, also Tymphi (, ) is a mountain in the northern Pindus mountain range, northwestern Greece. It is part of the regional unit of Ioannina and ...

and

Smolikas Mount Smolikas ( el, Σμόλικας; rup, Smolcu) is a mountain in the Ioannina regional unit, northwestern Greece. At a height of 2,637 metres above sea level, it is the highest of the Pindus Mountains, and the second highest mountain in Gr ...

are the most widely known. According to local folktales the lakes used to be inhabited by

dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

who fought each other by throwing pines and rocks and thus created the peculiar landscape and gave their names to the lakes.

Drakolimni of Tymfi

The first lake resides at an altitude of 2050m above sea level, on the mountain range of

, in

Vikos–Aoös National Park The Vikos–Aoös National Park ( el, Εθνικός Δρυμός Βίκου–Αώου ''Ethnikós Drymós Víkou–Aóou'') is a national park in the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece. The park, founded in 1973, is one of ten national p ...

. It is overlooked by the nearby peaks of Ploskos (Greek: Πλόσκος) and Astraka (Greek: Αστράκα). At 5 hours walking distance from the village of

Papingo Papingo ( el, Πάπιγκο, also transcribed as Papigko, Papigo) is a former community (1919-2010) in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform (the so-called Kallikratis Law) it has become part of the ...

, the lake is a popular trekking destination in the

. The lake is inhabited by a species of

alpine newt The alpine newt (''Ichthyosaura alpestris'') is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and thro ...

.for a relevant study of the University of Liege, http://www.etho.ulg.ac.be/denoel/site-pindos-en.html

Drakolimni of Smolikas

The second lake resides on the west slope of

, the second highest mountain of Greece. Smolikas lies a few kilometers north of Tymfi, only separated by the gorge of the river

Aoos The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös ( el, Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its ave ...

. This lake is also inhabited by

Footnotes

{{Zagori region Mountain lakes Lakes of Greece Landforms of Ioannina (regional unit) Zagori Landforms of Epirus (region)