Metsovo is a stone mountain town in the Pindus, about a thousand metres up, and it has a character of its own, thanks largely to its people. Many of the inhabitants are Vlachs, also called Aromanians, a community with its own Latin-derived language and a history as shepherds, traders and craftsmen who moved with their flocks across the Balkans. The town has long been prosperous, thanks to the patronage of wealthy benefactors, and the stone mansions with their wooden balconies and slate roofs speak of confidence. On weekends, the older residents still wear traditional dress, and you may hear Vlach spoken in the street.
The town sits on a steep hillside above a deep gorge, with the high Pindus ridges all around, covered in beech, fir and black pine. Metsovo is known for its smoked cheese, Metsovone, a firm, sharp cheese with a smoky flavour, and for its red wine, Katogi, made from local grapes and Cabernet Sauvignon grown on the slopes. The Tositsa and Averoff families, benefactors who made fortunes abroad, built museums, schools and a gallery in the town, and the folk museum, in a restored mansion, shows how a wealthy Vlach family lived. The Averoff Gallery holds a collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Greek painting.
The old road to Ioannina, the national road over the Katara Pass, climbs from Metsovo toward the high pass, and a motorway tunnel, built as part of the Egnatia Odos, now takes most of the heavy traffic under the mountain, which makes the old road quiet and pleasant for riders. The corners are broad, the surface is generally good, and the views over the forested slopes are lovely. Winters are cold and snowy, and the roads may need chains, while summers are cool and fresh, and spring and autumn are the best seasons for colour, particularly the red and gold of autumn beech woods.
Metsovo is a real town, with a population of a few thousand, and has what a rider needs. Fuel stations, supermarkets, cafés and tavernas line the main road, and there are plenty of small hotels and guesthouses. Ioannina, about thirty-one kilometres to the west, is a much larger city with all services. The food here is hearty mountain fare, with grilled meats, pies filled with greens or cheese, and a hot dish of trahana soup in the cold weather. A glass of Katogi and a plate of smoked cheese in the evening is the proper reward.