Pelion:Trek over the Peninsula

Arrival in Portaria from Volos, Thessaloniki or Athens airport. Portaria is a nice village with beautiful mansions and a cosy central square. Time permitted you can make a stroll through the village and discover the network of cobbled streets.

Today you make a round walk from Portaria. You walk to the traditional mountain village Makrinitsa  with its characteristic stone houses with slated roofs. You walk through maquis vegetation where you smell thyme and oregano to an idyllic church. Through forests you ascend and then via a dirt road you descend towards Portaria, whilst enjoying views on Volos city. Before reaching Portaria you come through a small green gorge.

Challenge: 4,5 hours, 13 km / 8 mi, 550m ascent, 550m descent

From Portaria, you will be taken to the start of the footpath from 
Chania to Kissos, or to the village of Kissos (you will skip the ChaniaKissos section).

From Chania, you descend via the eastern side of the ridge on and old donkey trail, through beech forest. Through a park-like landscape you end up inthe pretty village of Kissos. In this village you find the church Agia Marina dating back to the 17th century. This is said to be the most beautiful church of the Pelion peninsula and you should definitely pay a visit. Kissos is also a great place for lunch.

After lunch, you walk along an idyllic footpath to the village of Mouresi. The lush vegetation along the way might make you wonder if you are actually in Greece. In Mouresi, you continue down the old kalderimi to the seaside resort of Agios Ioannis, your next stop. A lovely sandy beach awaits here. This is therefore a fine place to stay 2 nights.

Before 28/04 and after 27/09, there is very limited accommodation in operation in Agios Ioannis. It 
may be needed to stay in studio or apartment without breakfast.

Challenge: 2/3 hours, 5/8 km / 3/5 mi, 170m ascent, 650m descent

Today you can opt for a relaxing day on the beach or you make a nice circular walk. After a short stretch on tarmac, you f ollow an old paved path up through dense forest. You descend to the beautiful beach of Vanikas. There is an optional loop to the Agii Saranti beach, further northwest. From Vanikas beach it’s back uphill and inland before you make the final descent to Plaka beach and walk along the coast back to Agios Ioannis.

Challenge: 4.5 + 1.5 hours, 11 +3.5 km / 7 + 2 mi, 540 + 200m ascent, 540 / 200 m descent

You walk along the coast and via a walk on a very pleasant cobbled path you reach the hamlet Damouchari, a tiny fishing village in a bay. Though tiny it was of strategic importance in earlier times, when it was the only natural harbor on the entire coast between Volos and Katerini. Today the bay provides a natural swimming pool with a pleasant pebble beach. From Damouchari you can make an optional loop back and forth along the coast to Fakistra beach where there is a possibility to visit the ‘Hidden School’ in a cave. Back above Damouchari bay, you walk uphill on a path to Tsangarada, a wide stretched village with numerous churches and squares. Your hotel is in the section Agia Paraskevi. From the terrace of this characteristic accommodation you see the village square with a 1000 year old plane tree with an incredible diameter.

Challenge: 4 hours, 8 km / 5 mi, 700m ascent, 300m descent

Today you will cross the mountain range at 700m elevation towards the south. First you walk through the lush village of Tsangarada along old churches and squares. Then you will ascend through forest and across the ridge. You walk via old mule tracks that were mainly built to facilitate the transportation of products from one place to the other. You walk through lime stone landscape covered with chestnut- and beech trees. You descend to the picturesque mountain village Milies whilst enjoying great views over the Pagasitic Gulf. Around Milies you find many old olive groves. Your hotel today has a lovely pool for relaxation moment.

Challenge: 4,5 hours, 12 km / 7,5 mi, 350m ascent, 400m descent

You descend via old cobbled paths from Milies towards the coast whilst enjoying great views. Last section before reaching the coastal village of Koropi is via dirt roads through olive groves. From Koropi you walk to the nearby touristic village Kala Nera, where you might have lunch in the shadow of the big plane tree on the village square. Then you ascend via cobbled paths via a hamlet until the narrow gauge railway tracks, that you follow until Milies. The tracks are 200-300m above sea level. It is great to follow the tracks that ascend gradually. Wherever mule tracks cross the tracks, stone road bridges have been built: interesting civil engineering features from the past. You will also walk past the cave where, according mythology, the centaur Cheiron taught Asklepios about medical plants and herbs. During the summer months the steam train operates once per day only on Saturday and Sunday.

Challenge: 4 hours, 12 km / 7,5 mi, 475m ascent, 475m descent

After breakfast end of arrangement. Travel to Thessaloniki-, Volos- or Athens airport.