Vradeto () is a village in the Greek Zagori region (Epirus region). It lies at a height of on Mt Tymphe in the Pindus mountain range. It is the highest of the 44 villages of Zagori. It is the middle of the VikosâÂÂAoös National Park and is about away from Ioannina. It is located only a few kilometers from the Vikos Gorge and near one of the best vantage points, Beloe (Beloi) (perhaps a Slavic word meaning "good view" or "balcony"). It is located also close to an alpine lake called Drakolimni (Dragon's Lake), one of several such lakes. The lakes are named after the amphibian newts (Ichthyosaura alpestris) that live in them, around which there are myths of dragons. The myths are echoes of ancient myths about the hero Pindus, son of Macedon, who either befriended or according to another myth killed a dragon.
The toponym Vradeto is derived from the Aromanian noun brad 'fir' and the suffix -et, stemming from Latin -etum, common also in Italian terms for plants as the suffix -eto. The Aromanian preposition from Latin brathy, -yos, in Greek vráthy, -nos 'a type of shrub having cypress-like leaves', in Albanian bredh, -i 'fir' and the Romanian brad 'fir' and brÃÂdet 'fir forest' used in Romanian toponymy.
Until the close of the 20th century there was only one way to reach the village, via a kalderimi (paved mule road) called the Skala of Vradeto () a stairway of about 1,000 steps built on the side of a canyon and almost impossible to seem from a distance. It starts at the end of a long path from the village of Kapesovo. Vradeto's difficulty of access probably explains its location in the inhospitable highlands near the top of Mt Tymphe. A road was opened in the 1970s. It is believed to have been settled initially by families from Skamneli at around 1616, according to Ioannis Lamprides.
The traditional stone architecture is dominant in every building, in the village paths, dwellings and churches, many now ruined or in a state of significant disrepair. The main church, dedicated to the Birth of Mary () was built in 1799 with a donation from Nikolaos Tsigaras. Other churches are those of Agios Athanasios at the top of the Skala, Agios Nikolaos, Prophetes Elias and Agios Georgios with a cemetery.
The Feast of the Birth of Mary is celebrated with a three-day festival starting on 8 September.
The village is inhabited by Greeks, Arvanite families who assimilated into the local population and some Sarakatsani who settled in the village during the early 20th century. The arrival of Orthodox Albanians (locally called "Arvanites") occurred in the modern period and originate from the wider Souli area in central Greek Epirus, while the Sarakatsani are Greek speakers.