Epirus is the most mountainous part of Greece, three quarters of it consists of high peaks and steep hills. It has lost many of its inhabitants to the search for a kinder fate. Emigration has left its mark on Epirus, with the pain of separation inspiring the richest collection of Greek popular songs, while at the same time the sons of Epirus were great benefactors who did much to support the modern Greek state. When the emigrants returned to their homeland, they felt obliged to use the traditional building crafts to erect a home, and thus today we have in the villages of Zagoria the most important chain of mountain settlements in the country. Epirus is known for its exquisite stone bridges, whose architecture and legends culminate in the bridge at Arta. DraKolimni on Mt. Gamila and Pamvotis at loannina are among the country’s most beautiful lakes. The rivers of Epirus are rated among the best in Europe for trout fishing and for white water canoeing. The old myth makes it possible for the visitor to the very ancient oracle of Dodona to hear in the rustling of the oak tree prophecies of his destiny. On the islet in lake Pamvotis you can see icons in the Monastery of the Philanthropists which have the faces of the philosophers of antiquity.