This is the most famous village of the Vlachs and at the same time the largest and highest village in Greece as it was built at a 1500 m. altitude. People there are mainly farmers, but a lot of them are involved in professions associated with wood.
You can walk through the cobbled streets and admire the traditional stone houses. You can also visit the folklore museum and the old churches like St. Athanasius, which dates back to 1840. In the village square, you will see the church of Virgin Mary which was built in 1819. The main characteristic of this church is a pine tree that grew in the temple and now comes out of the roof.
Even though only the guards live in Samarina every winter, the summer is a different story. Every summer, the flocks leave their pastures and go to the plains. If you are a visitor, you can follow the flocks along with the shepherds and their families and the rest of the villagers. The population of Samarina in the summer is about 3.000 inhabitants, except for the period August 10th to 20th that this number increases up to 10.000-15.000 residents. On August 15th there is a huge Christian celebration and the festival lasts three days.
