Luxury Ionian Coast Holidays

The area of Greek mainland known as Epirus borders Albania and is directly opposite the island of Corfu. Its interior is a lush and soaring landscape reminiscent of Scotland at its finest. There are mountain villages, dense forests, low-key seaside resorts and the gloriously unspoilt Ionian Sea coastline stretching from Igoumenista in the north to Preveza and Lefkada to the south.

In this, the most mountainous region of Greece, is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world's deepest canyon, the Vikas Gorge. Epirus feels remote and largely undiscovered. It boasts desolate and lonely clifftop monasteries, soul-stirring mountain vistas, skies patrolled by birds of prey including golden eagles, forests, waterfalls, ice-cold mountain lakes and the charming Zagori villages which bring to mind Alpine retreats.

Somewhat unexpectedly this area is also home to Greece's third largest city, the lovely lakeside Ioannina. The lowlands and coast are wonderful too. The turquoise Ionian Sea laps at a wild and dramatic coastline with a few long sandy beaches and low-key seaside resorts of note. Preveza's yacht harbour has an international clientele, and the massive ruins of Nicopolis, the largest ancient city of Greece, sprawl casually by the road.

In this area of outstanding natural beauty, a stretch of appealing beaches and coves unfurls between Sivota, to the north, and Parga, in the south. Some of the beaches are busy, others provide escape-from-it-all serenity, but all are lapped by the turquoise and crystal clear waters of the Ionian Sea.