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Papingo (, also transcribed as Papigko, Papigo) is a former community (1919-2010) in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform (the so-called Kallikratis Law) it has become part of the municipality of Zagori, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 34.131 km2. It is located in the Vikos–Aoös National Park.
Papingo consists of two villages: Megalo Papingo (Greek: Μεγάλο Πάπιγκο) and Mikro Papingo (Greek: Μικρό Πάπιγκο), greater and lesser Papingo. There is a single road that provides access first to Megalo Papingo and a kilometre further to Mikro Papingo.
The climate of the region is Mediterranean transitioning to Continental with heavy snowfalls in the winter and considerable rainfall and humidity also during the other seasons of the year. There is a very diverse flora and fauna, because of the many microenvironments, such as streams, rivers, lakes, forests, agricultural land, coppices, pasture, sub-alpine grassland and the unique biotope of the Vikos Gorge. A footpath leads up from the village through the sub-alpine plateaus of Mt Tymphe to Drakolimni ( Dragonlake), a glacial lake at an altitude of 2000 m. The trek to the lake lasts about 5 hours. Along the way, at an altitude of 1950 m, there is a mountain refuge, the Mountain Hut of Tymphe or of Astraka. It normally operates from May to October although it has solar panels that enable its use throughout the year. Use during the winter months can be arranged by appointment.
Another landscape attraction is a series of rock pools known as the Kolymbethres (Gr. term for "baptismal fonts") or the Ovires of Rogovos, which have been formed in the limestone by the so-called stream of Rogovos running down Tymfi.
The village enjoyed a period of prosperity from the 15th to the 17th centuries due to the special privileges that the region of Zagori had secured from the Ottoman Sultan. Orthodox Albanians locally called "Arvanites", have settled in Megalo Papingo after the 15th century, later assimilating into the local population. Sarakatsani have settled in both Megalo and Mikro Papingo at the beginning of the 20th century. During 17th-18th century various locals became folk healers, known as Vikos doctors, who used local herbs for various diseases.
A Greek school called the Kallineios School was built in 1780 with funds by Michael Anagnostopoulos, a wealthy expatriate living in the United States of America. The village's prosperity ended in the 19th century when the administrative privileges were withdrawn. A demographic decline ensued that continued through the 20th century, even after the union of Epirus with Greece following the Balkan Wars. The villages suffered greatly in the Second World War and Greek Civil War and by the 1980s, they were almost completely depopulated. Since then however, the population has increased, largely due to their popularity as touristic destinations. The 2021 census recorded 184 inhabitants in Papingo and 39 in Mikro Papingo.
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