Gyftokampos ( el, Γυφτόκαμπος) is an area ιn the

Zagori Zagori ( el, Ζαγόρι; rup, Zagori), is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 villages known as ...

region ( Epirus region), 58 km north of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

. Its name is derived from the Greek "gyftos" (γύφτος), gypsy and "kampos" ( la, campus) that means "field", and could be rendered in English translation as "gypsy lea". There used to be a hamlet called Nouka on this location which was also used by the

Sarakatsani The Sarakatsani ( el, Σαρακατσάνοι, also written Karakachani, bg, каракачани) are an ethnic Greek population subgroup who were traditionally transhumant shepherds, native to Greece, with a smaller presence in neighbouring ...

as pasture grounds. The area, located at the base of Mt

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 ...

, has traditionally belonged to the village of

Skamneli Skamneli ( el, Σκαμνέλι) is a village in the Zagori region ( Epirus region), 54 km north of Ioannina. It is built in the fringes of mountain Tymfi (Mt Tymphe), at a height of 1160 m. Name The name "Skamneli" is of uncertain origi ...

and it forms part of the municipality of

History

Until the early 20th century, the area was open and used as a grazing ground by the

. It has become gradually wooded by coniferous trees, including impressive

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US) or Baltic pine, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orang ...

s. Huts of

were in use until the 1990s. Today an open-air "museum" with typical Sarakatsani huts and animal enclosures has been built. The area is used for an annual

festival in the first week of August. Gyftokampos

Sources

www.timfi.gov.gr
(in Greek) {{coord, 39, 55, N, 20, 51, E, display=title, region:GR_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Ioannina (regional unit) Zagori el:Γυφτόκαμπος Ιωαννίνων