Tymfi is one of the most botanically interesting areas in Greece, with approximately 1,700 plant species. Within the Vikos Gorge, one of the core areas of the National Park, many of the region’s rare plants can be found. On the steep slopes of the gorge grow horse chestnuts, a tree endemic to the Balkan Peninsula countries, which is included in the UN's global list of species requiring protection. In spring, bluebells (Galanthus reginae-olgae subsp. vernalis), cornflowers (Centaurea pawlowskii), and Madonna lilies (Lilium candidum) add colour to the rock; all have limited distribution in Greece and are protected by legislation such as the Bern Convention, the CITES Treaty, and Presidential Decree 67/1981 of the Greek state. Among the rarest plants in the gorge, a special place is held by the Serbian ramonda (Ramonda serbica), a relic from an earlier geological period when the climate in Europe was tropical.
The area's great botanical value is further enhanced by the presence of many medicinal plants, herbs, which are used by the inhabitants of Zagori for therapeutic purposes. Indeed, the area was the origin of the famous Vikoiatroi (Vikos healers), who were practitioners who treated patients using various herbs that came from the great natural pharmacy of Vikos, such as centaury (Centaurium erythraea), germander (Teucrium polium), sage (Salvia officinalis), mountain tea (Sideritis raeseri), hellebore (Helleborus cyclophyllus subsp. odorus), St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), among others.
As part of this region, the stone-built Stairway of Vradeto, which climbs the Mezaria gorge, a branch of the Vikos gorge, and connects the villages Kapesovo and Vradeto, and the path leading from Vradeto to the Beloi viewpoint, are not lacking in significant floral elements. In just 5 kilometres of path, 350 plant species and subspecies have been recorded, while one in three plants encountered while walking there is characterised as a plant of particular interest, as it is either endemic to Greece or the Balkans, or is rare and protected by law, or, finally, is used as a medicinal plant.
