Greece hiking tours are walks through the gorges, mountains and island paths of Greece, from the Samaria Gorge on Crete to Mount Olympus, the Vikos Gorge and the trails of Arcadia. The page is part of the Greece Tours on Greece Ville.
This page covers what Greece hiking tours are, Crete and the islands, the mountains of central Greece, then Epirus, the Peloponnese and the north. Seasons, safety and common questions come last. Each section links to the Greece Ville posts on single tours.
What are Greece hiking tours across the mountains of Greece?
Greece hiking tours are walks through the mountain ranges, gorges and ridges of Greece, led by experts or followed independently, and they link limestone peaks, forest slopes and sea cliffs across the mainland and the islands of the country.
The Lefka Ori of western Crete carry a second name, Madares, which describes high ground bare of vegetation. Greece hiking tours on that range cross bare limestone far above the villages and the coast.
On Mount Olympus the dry foothills are called Xirokampi. Maquis shrubland and wild boar share the lower slopes that Greece hiking tours cross. Further north the Makryrema stream separates the massif from the neighbouring Voulgara massif.
Central Greece adds Mount Parnassus. In the flood myth, survivors followed the howling of wolves up its slope and founded a city named Lycoreia. Greece hiking tours there walk through myth as well as limestone.
The islands add their own paths. Crete, the Cyclades and Santorini each give a different kind of ground, from gorge floors to cliff edges, and the sections below take them in turn.
- Crete: Gorges and limestone ridges run down to the Libyan Sea.
- Olympus: Trails climb from the Aegean coast towards bare summits.
- Parnassus: Paths cross limestone slopes tied to Apollo and the Muses.
- Pelion: Stone paths join villages, springs and sheltered coves.
The sections below follow the mountains from the White Mountains of Crete to the caldera rim of Santorini. Each section names the facts that shape the route on the ground.
Which Greece hiking tours cross the Samaria Gorge?
Greece hiking tours through the Samaria Gorge start from the Omalos plateau in the White Mountains of western Crete, where the peaks Gingilos and Volakias stand beside the Xyloskalo entrance and a national park protects the canyon below.
The Omalos plateau covers 15 km2 and lies 38 km south of Chania in the White Mountains. Omalos village sits at its northeastern corner and draws its importance from trekking.
At Xyloskalo two peaks rise, Gingilos at 2,080 metres and Volakias at 2,116 metres. Legend links the peaks with the throne of Zeus, who was born in Crete.
The plateau has three approaches: from the west along the Chania-Sougia road, from the north at Omalos, and from the south through the gorge. Greece hiking tours treat the northern entrance as the usual start.
The village of Samaria and the gorge take their names from the ancient church of Ossia Maria. Park rules prohibit camping, overnight stays, fires and swimming in the streams of the gorge.
- Tzani Cave: The cave is named after Tzanis Markos, a revolutionary chieftain who made it his lair.
- Pastures: Shepherds bring flocks onto the madares slopes of the Lefka Ori in the warmer seasons.
- Old lake: The plateau was originally a lake and is thought to have lost its waters through the Tzani Cave.
- Farming: The cooler climate and fertile soil suit potatoes, apples and cereals.
The Samaria Gorge tour post covers the crossing from the plateau to the sea. Greece hiking tours elsewhere in the range share the same limestone ground.
Why do Greece hiking tours include the Imbros Gorge?
Greece hiking tours include the Imbros Gorge in southern Crete and set it beside other Cretan canyons, including the Kourtaliotiko Gorge, where wind makes clapping sounds, and the Richtis Gorge in eastern Crete, whose name means waterfall in Cretan.
Legend says two brothers were banished from Imbros in Turkey and settled in the Cretan village of the same name. The gorge therefore carries a story older than its trail.
The Kourtaliotiko River flows south between the mountains of Kouroupa and Xiron. A road runs through the gorge from Koxare in the north to Asomatos, then turns west to Plakias on the southern coast.
Other Cretan canyons offer a contrast. In the Kourtaliotiko Gorge, wind funnelled through high caves makes clapping sounds, called kourtala, about 20 metres from the northern entrance, and Lammergeier vultures roost on the cliffs.
Richtis Gorge in the east starts at Exo Mouliana and ends at a beach near Kalavros. Its name means waterfall in the Cretan dialect, and the path passes plane trees, stone bridges and old water mills.
- Kourtaliotiko: A small church of Agios Nikolaos stands inside the gorge beside a 40-metre waterfall.
- Preveli: The gorge leads to a sandy beach and is home to native palm trees.
- Richtis: The trail starts at Exo Mouliana, on the road between Agios Nikolaos and Sitia.
- Asomatos: The Kourtaliotiko Gorge is also known as the Asomatos Gorge.
The Imbros Gorge hike post covers the canyon itself. Greece hiking tours in Crete pair it with a gorge further east. The Crete canyoning post covers the Cretan gorges that are descended with ropes instead of on foot.
How do Greece hiking tours use the White Mountains near Chania?
Greece hiking tours in the White Mountains near the city of Chania rely on four shared mountain refuges, built between 1958 and 1994, that give walkers a base on high limestone ground above the Sfakia coast of the Libyan Sea.
The Volikas Refuge was built in 1958 above the village of Kampi Keramion, at an elevation of 1,450 metres. It takes up to 30 people, so Greece hiking tours use it as a base.
The Tavris Refuge was built in 1992 near Ammoudari, 7.5 km from Askyfou, at 1,200 metres. It takes up to 45 people, so it is the largest of the three refuges described here.
The Svourichti Refuge was built in 1994 at 1,980 metres, the highest of the four refuges, and it takes 20 people. Greece hiking tours that climb there leave the plateaus far behind.
Stealing and banditry were considered a way of life in the mountains of Sfakia. At Loutro stand the ruins of a chancellery where the first revolutionary government of 1821 met.
- Volikas: Built in 1958, it is the oldest of the three refuges named here.
- Tavris: Built in 1992, it lies close to Ammoudari.
- Svourichti: Built in 1994, it is the newest of the three refuges named here.
- Capacity: Together the three refuges take 95 people.
The Chania hiking tour post covers walking in the range from the city of Chania. Greece hiking tours here depend on these refuges for shelter in the high country.
How does the E4 path shape Greece hiking tours across Crete?
Greece hiking tours on the E4 follow a long-distance path that enters Greece from Bulgaria, runs through the Peloponnese to the port of Gythio, and continues by ferry to Crete, where the first organised mapping of the route was drawn up.
The E4 enters Greece from Kulata in Bulgaria, in the north, and crosses the border to Promachon. The route was originally planned to cross from North Macedonia to Florina instead.
The Peloponnese leg lists Diakofto, Kalavryta, Vytina, Tripoli, Sparti and Mystras before it ends at Gythio. A ferry runs from there to Kastelli Kissamou on Crete, where the island section begins.
On Crete, the first organised mapping and signing of the whole E4 was the work of Giorgis N. Petrakis, an architect, spatial planner and cartographer. Greece hiking tours there benefit from that early survey.
More adventurous walkers follow the E4 through the mountains of Sfakia. The coastal villages there are not connected by a coastal road, so walkers reach them by ferry boats.
- Scale: Spain alone accounts for 2267 km of the E4 and France for 1374 km.
- Maps: Maps from Anavasi cover much of the route, including a Taygetos sheet at 1:25,000.
- Wildlife: Bears and wolves live in the far north of Greece, and walkers find their signs far sooner than the animals.
- Water: Ample reserves of water are carried even where springs and fast streams exist.
The E4 gives Greece hiking tours one thread through the country, from the Bulgarian border to the Peloponnese ferry and the mountains of Crete. The sections that follow take the individual mountains in turn.
Where do Greece hiking tours walk on the Cyclades islands?
Greece hiking tours in the Cyclades follow island paths on Naxos, Tinos, Folegandros and Sifnos, where Mount Zas, the jagged peak of Exomvourgo, cliff-edge villages and ancient mines give each island a different line of walking across the Aegean Sea.
On Naxos the Zas Cave was inhabited in the Neolithic era. It held stone objects from Melos, copper objects including a dagger, and gold sheet, which researchers read as a mark of status.
Tinos has about 1,000 dovecotes and 50 active villages. Its mountain Exomvourgo is jagged, unlike the rounder Cycladic peaks around it, and it carries Venetian fortifications. Greece hiking tours on Tinos pass both.
Folegandros has three villages, Chora, Karavostasis and Ano Meria, joined by a paved road. Chora stands on a cliff 200 m high, and Katergo beach is reached on foot or by boat.
Remains of ancient mines on Sifnos can still be seen, notably at Ay. Sostis, and ancient fortifications stand at Ay. Andreas and Ay. Nikitas. Greece hiking tours there cross a landscape shaped by metal.
- Anafi: Greek myth says Apollo made the island appear to the Argonauts during a storm.
- Kalamos: A fortress called Gibitroli is said to stand on Mount Kalamos on Anafi.
- Aratus: The poet called Folegandros iron Pholegandros because of its ruggedness.
- Falatados: The fruitful plain of Falatados lies between two mountains at about 300 metres.
The Naxos tour post covers the island’s villages and sites. Greece hiking tours on the other islands use the same mix of rock, cliff and sea.
What do Greece hiking tours climb on Mount Olympus?
Greece hiking tours on Mount Olympus climb the highest massif in Greece by trails that reach refuges at 2,648 and 2,760 metres, and the last section from Skala to Mytikas is a class 3 rock scramble with high exposure.
Greece hiking tours on Olympus count the climb as non-technical, except for the final section from the Skala summit to the Mytikas peak. That stretch is a YDS class 3 scramble.
Stefani presents the greatest challenge for climbers, because its last 200 metres rise sharply. Greece hiking tours that stay below it still cross the Muses’ Plateau at 2,550 metres.
Near the centre of the massif spreads the alpine tundra region of Bara, at 2,350 metres. Bosnian pine forms one of the highest forest lines in the Balkans, reaching 2,750 metres.
Giosos Apostolidis refuge stands on the Muses’ Plateau at 2,760 metres and takes 80 people. Christos Kakalos lies at the southwest edge of the plateau, at 2,648 metres, with 18 beds and a kitchen.
- Water: Springs above 2,000 metres are scarce, so walkers carry their own supply.
- Storms: Summer brings evening thunderstorms with hail and strong winds.
- Wind: Winds blow almost daily on the high ground.
- Temperature: The air cools by 1 degree Celsius for every 200 metres of climb.
The Mount Olympus day trip post covers the mountain from the coast side. Greece hiking tours on the massif need dry footing, full water bottles and clothing for any weather.
How do Greece hiking tours use Litochoro and the Enipeas gorge?
Greece hiking tours use Litochoro as the gateway to Olympus and follow the river Enipeas, whose springs lie at Prionia and whose estuary lies in the Aegean Sea, through a deep gorge that holds European yew, hazel and holly.
Small caves on Olympus are filled with ice that does not melt even in summer. Limestones drilled by mussels show the rock once lay under the sea. Greece hiking tours start at Litochoro.
Pine, cedar and fir forests lie southwest and northwest of the town. Much of the land to the south remains uncultivated, while farmland predominates to the north. Greece hiking tours cross both kinds of ground.
A rich variety of trees and shrubs grows in the Enipeas gorge: elm, cherry plum, European yew, hazel, holly, cornel cherry, manna ash and maple. Oriental plane, willow and black alder cover the ravines.
The Old Monastery of Dionysios lies in the Enipeas gorge and can be reached by car from Litochoro. Ottoman forces looted and burned it, and in 1943 German troops destroyed it, suspecting a guerrilla den.
- Facilities: Litochoro has restaurants, cafeterias, a hospital and a museum.
- Churches: Agios Nikolaos stands in the centre of the town and Agios Dimitrios in the north.
- Cemetery: The Agios Athanasios cemetery in the north is described as very traditional.
- Buses: A regular bus service links the town with Katerini.
The Litochoro tour post covers the town and its monastery. Greece hiking tours that start here follow the river into the mountain.
How do Greece hiking tours reach the Meteora rock pillars on foot?
Greece hiking tours at Meteora pass between the sandstone pillars near Kalabaka, where hermit monks first lived in rock hollows and fissures in the 800s, and where later monasteries rose on cliffs above the Pineios valley of Thessaly.
The hermits lived in rock hollows and fissures. At first they led a solitary life, meeting only on Sundays and special days to worship in a chapel at the foot of a rock called Dupiani.
Access to the monasteries was deliberately difficult. Monks used long ladders latched together, or large nets, and according to the story the ropes were replaced only when the Lord let them break.
The Varlaam Monastery is sited 595 metres above sea level on a precipice. Rousanou, a convent today, stands over 415 metres above the Pineios valley floor. These heights show how steeply the rock rises.
The cliffs rise to more than 400 metres. The area is hilly and forested, with river valleys and a protected area known as the Trikala Aesthetic Forest, and the Dragon Cave lies south below Varlaam.
- Heavenly columns: The steep rock columns are known as heavenly columns.
- Psaropetra: A viewpoint lies beside a main road southeast of Rousanou.
- Bishopric: The Metropolis of Stagoi and Meteora has its seat in Kalabaka.
- Valley: The monasteries sit in the Pineios Valley within the Thessalian plains.
The Meteora day trip from Athens post covers the monasteries and the route from the capital. Greece hiking tours here follow the valley and the rock together.
Which Greece hiking tours climb Mount Parnassus?
Greece hiking tours on Mount Parnassus climb the limestone range above Delphi, where tradition places Apollo and the Muses, and pass the Corycian Cave on the southern slopes, which ancient Greeks saw as a divider between wild peaks and cultivated land.
The Corycian Cave is the largest cave in the Delphi region. Ancient texts describe an oval depression with high rocky walls and a shady woodland, with an underground cavern opening at the bottom.
The cave sheltered local people during foreign invasions: the Persians in the fifth century BC, the Turks in the Greek War of Independence, and the Germans in 1943. Greece hiking tours pass that history.
In France, between 1866 and 1876, the Parnassism movement took the mountain’s link with the Muses as its emblem. The group did not exceed twenty poets, yet it influenced Greek poets such as Kostis Palamas.
Tradition holds that Apollo gave Orpheus a golden lyre while Orpheus lived on Parnassus with his mother and eight aunts. Odysseus recalls being gored in the thigh by a boar there.
- Montparnasse: The name Mont Parnasse was given to a quarter of Paris where artists and poets recited.
- Pegasus: The winged horse of Bellerophon had its home on the mountain.
- Orestes: In myth Orestes spent time in hiding on Parnassus.
- Thalia: Apollo courted the laughing muse Thalia while Orpheus lived there.
The Arachova day trip post covers the town below the mountain. Greece hiking tours here move between the village streets and the old sacred ground above.
How do Greece hiking tours cross the Pelion villages and paths?
Greece hiking tours on Pelion link mountain villages such as Agios Georgios Nileias, Agria and Argalasti, where an old shepherd settlement, a harbour town and a marble bell tower mark the routes between the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean Sea.
Agios Georgios Nileias stands at about 700 metres on the slopes of Pelion. According to tradition, shepherds founded the village after they found an icon in a bush. Greece hiking tours pass it.
Its inhabitants lived in the village in summer and moved in winter to lower villages such as Agia Triada, Ano Gatzea and Kato Gatzea. The village revolted in 1821, and the Ottoman Pasha Dramali burnt it.
Agria lies on the Pelion peninsula about 7 km from Volos. The town grew rapidly after Thessaly joined Greece, helped by a coastal road and rail network of 1895 linking Volos to south-western villages.
Argalasti sits on a fertile plateau 40 km southeast of Volos. Its church of Saints Apostles Peter and Paul dates from 1886, and the marble bell tower was added in 1913.
- Agios Ioannis: The village and beach resort on the east coast has a small port for fishing boats and yachts.
- Agria community: The community was established in 1912 on land that once belonged to the villages of Drakia and Agios Laurentios.
- Nileia: The municipality named after the ancient city of Nelia near Volos was dissolved in 1914.
- Agria name: One account traces the name of Agria to wild olive trees.
The Pelion tour post covers the peninsula and its villages. Greece hiking tours here move between the mountain, the villages and the two seas.
How do Greece hiking tours follow the Santorini caldera rim on foot?
Greece hiking tours on Santorini climb the limestone hill of Mesa Vouno to the ruins of Ancient Thera and follow the caldera rim between villages such as Imerovigli and Pyrgos Kallistis, above the flooded volcanic crater of the southern Cyclades.
A collection of 760 coins from the 6th century BCE, found at Ancient Thera, shows modest trade links with Athens, Corinth, Ionia and Rhodes. Greece hiking tours on Mesa Vouno climb to that trading town.
The finest statue of its type, the Apollo of Thera, dates from the beginning of the 6th century BCE. Both the marble and the style of the youth statues came from Naxos.
Two caves lie near Ancient Thera. One looks like a second sanctuary, and the other is read either as a place of cult worship or as a garbage pit.
The inscriptions at the sanctuary date from the transition between the 9th and 8th centuries BCE and rank among the oldest known uses of the Greek alphabet. Greece hiking tours reach that early writing.
- Pyrgos Kallistis: The village lies about 7 km from Fira and counted 1,078 residents in the 2021 census.
- Imerovigli: The village counted 469 permanent inhabitants in the 2021 census.
- Cable car: The Doppelmayr gondola lift carries 1,200 passengers per hour in total.
- Funding: The Nomikos Foundation funded the cable car, built between 1980 and 1982.
These facts show how Greece hiking tours on Santorini move between the ancient ridge and the rim villages above the caldera. The same pattern of rock, sea and village repeats across the Aegean. The Fira to Oia hike post covers the caldera path stage by stage.
What do Greece hiking tours cover in Vikos and Zagori?
Greece hiking tours in Vikos and Zagori cover a limestone gorge, an alpine ridge and a chain of stone villages in the Pindus range of Epirus. The routes use old village paths, river valleys and high pastures inside one protected landscape.
The arrangement that granted Zagori its local self-rule was called Voiniko. The monastery of Votsa near the village of Greveniti was a royal endowment of the Byzantine period, and Greece hiking tours pass such sites.
Tsepelovo is the biggest village of Zagori and stands on the Tymfi range. Two kilometres out of the village, in the Vikaki canyon, lies the monastery of St John Rogovou.
Kapesovo was renowned for painters called Bogades, who worked in dozens of churches from Moscopole to Arta. Its Paschaleios School, founded in 1861, keeps one of the four copies of the Rigas Feraios chart.
Excavations at Genitsari near Vitsa found a settlement of the ninth to fourth century BC. A graveyard there with at least 140 graves held coins, pottery and weapons.
Skamneli does not appear in Turkish records of 1564. A raid recorded in 1688 saw Ali Chogmeno arrive with 166 men, and armatoloi under the captain Douvlis killed him.
- Lapatos: This summit of Mount Tymphe reaches 2,251 metres.
- Aftia: This peak of the Valia Calda park reaches 2,082 metres.
- Lookouts: The Oxya and Beloe lookouts over the gorge are reachable only on foot.
- Birds: The wallcreeper and Tengmalm’s owl live in the park.
The Zagori tours post covers the villages, bridges and viewpoints of the region. Greece hiking tours in Zagori join those places with the gorge and the ridge paths.
Where do Greece hiking tours go around the Aoos and Konitsa?
Greece hiking tours around the Aoos and Konitsa start in a town on a Pindus slope above the meeting of two rivers. From there the routes reach Mount Smolikas, the river corridors and the high border mountains of Epirus.
The municipal unit of Konitsa covers 542.516 square kilometres. That area of mountain and river valley is the land the town serves, from the Aoos up to the grassland on the summits.
The Ottoman General Census of 1881/1882 counted 16,570 people in the district centred on Konitsa. Of them, 15,838 were Orthodox Greeks and 1,429 were Muslims, and the town was the administrative centre.
Smolikas reaches 2,631 metres, and the river Vourkopotamo drains the mountain to the north. Greece hiking tours that climb it meet bare rock and grassland above the forest.
Palaioselli and Pades are two of the villages south of the mountain. The Molossian royal house ruled Epirus from the ancient town of Molossis, which stood near modern Konitsa.
A Greek school operated in Konitsa from the end of the eighteenth century under Georgios Mostras. After the turbulent years of Ali Pasha, it reopened on the initiative of Kosmas Thesprotos.
- Name: One theory traces the name from Knossos through Konissos and Konissa to Konitsa.
- Vjosa: The river enters Albania near the village of Vllaho.
- Tekke: The Bektashi tekke of Konitsa was a centre of learning in the nineteenth century.
- Music: Konstantis Pistiolis, a clarinet player and vocalist, was born in Konitsa.
The Konitsa tour post covers the town and its valley. Greece hiking tours of the Aoos use Konitsa as their base.
Why do Greece hiking tours visit Tzoumerka?
Greece hiking tours visit Tzoumerka because the mountain group joins stone villages, deep river ravines and a large arched bridge in the Pindus of Epirus. The Arachthos and the Chroussias cut the valleys that the old paths follow.
In the late eighteenth century the Souliote chieftain Giorgos Botsaris settled in Vourgareli with 170 Souliote families. After the fall of Souli to Ali Pasha in 1803, the Souliotes fled to the Seltsou Monastery.
After Arta joined Greece in 1881, the residents of Vourgareli bought the fief that a Turk named Abram Karakehaya held in the last years of Ottoman rule. They paid 4.416 Ottoman liras for it.
On 3 February 1878, during an anti-Ottoman revolt, Greek troops under Konstantinos Kottikas defeated the Turkish garrison at the Plaka Bridge. The garrison retreated, and Greece hiking tours cross that ground today.
The arch of the Plaka Bridge has an apex thickness of 1.56 metres, which experts have considered small. A crack of 15 centimetres was found in the region where horizontal stresses concentrate.
Tradition says the river Chroussias took its name from Chroussios, a son of Neoptolemos, who drowned in it when he did not know that water rises fast in bad weather.
- Pramanta: The community had 1,514 residents in 2021, and the municipal unit had 1,759.
- Isioma: A mountain retreat of that name lies near Pramanta.
- Syrrakiotes: Shepherds of Syrrako raised sheep and goats by the thousand.
- Athamanians: Greek myths of Athamas and Ino suggest that the Athamanians lived in Phthiotis before 1600 BC.
The Tzoumerka tour post covers the villages, the river and the bridge. Greece hiking tours in the group follow the same valleys between those places.
How do Greece hiking tours use the Lousios Gorge?
Greece hiking tours use the Lousios Gorge as a river corridor in western Arcadia, with forest and cliffs on both sides and old monasteries along the route. The old paths link the hill villages of the area, from Karytaina to Dimitsana.
Karytaina stands in the Arcadian hills on the hill of Achreiovouni, 550 metres above sea level. It lies 54 km from Tripoli, 20 km from Megalopoli and 17 km from Stemnitsa.
Karytaina was one of the largest Frankish baronies. Its position controlled the southern Skorta region and the Alpheios route from the Arcadian plateau to the plains of Elis.
At the turn of the eighteenth century the traveller Pouqueville recorded 130 villages with 28,170 inhabitants in the whole district of Karytaina, of whom 3,000 lived in the village itself.
Mount Lykaion has a northern peak at 1,421 metres and a southern peak at 1,382 metres. It was sacred to Zeus Lykaios, and athletic games called the Lykaia took place there every four years.
The municipality of Gortynia covers 1,050.882 square kilometres and has its seat at Dimitsana. It was formed in 2011 from eight former municipalities, and the Dimitsana unit covers 110.759 square kilometres.
- Kavia: The large Kavia cave lies near Karytaina.
- Bazaar: Karytaina hosts the annual Women’s Bazaar in August.
- Alfeios: The Alfeios basin measures 868.6 km2 above its confluence with the Lousios.
- Brenthe: The site of Karytaina has been identified with the ancient city of Brenthe.
The Lousios Gorge hike post covers the river path and the monasteries along it. Greece hiking tours in the gorge follow that same corridor.
Which Taygetus and Mani routes do Greece hiking tours follow?
Greece hiking tours in Taygetus and the Mani follow a long mountain range that runs south through Messenia and Laconia and ends in a rocky peninsula. The routes cross gorges, tower villages and a steep coast of caves.
The Rindomo Gorge separates the Central Range of Taygetus from Southern Taygetos. The section forming the backbone of the Mani peninsula is called Saggias, and is not always counted as part of Taygetus.
The slopes of Taygetus have been inhabited since at least Mycenaean times. The Spartans threw criminals into a chasm of the range known as Ceadas, and recent finds appear to confirm that use.
Low-growing plants thrive above the tree line of Taygetus, among them the rare Jurinea taygetea, an endemic species. The Vyros Gorge hosts the endemic Lithodora zahnii and Thalictrum orientale.
Greece hiking tours that pass Pyrgos Dirou meet a central complex called Lefkia. The 1832 complex of the armatolos Sklavounakos in Petrovouni has a six-storey tower, possibly the tallest in Mani.
Vatheia is first mentioned in 1571, by a Venetian diplomatic mission, as casale di Vathia. Its four largest clans, who lived there, were the Karabatiani, Michalakiani, Kaledoniani and Koutrigari.
- Californian: German forces sank the SS Californian off Cape Matapan on 9 November 1915.
- Taenarus: Greek myth credits the hero Taenarus with founding the temple of Poseidon.
- Dyros: Ibrahim Pasha landed near Areopoli in June 1826 and was repulsed after a battle at Dyros.
- Diros: The Diros Caves lie about 19 km south of Pollapolis.
The Diros caves tour post covers the caves of the Mani coast. Greece hiking tours in the region pair them with the mountain paths.
What do Greece hiking tours find on the Menalon trail and in Arcadia?
Greece hiking tours on the Menalon highlands cross a forested limestone mountain with a ski resort, named peaks and villages on the plateau around Tripoli. The paths run through fir and pine forest and over heath on the upper slopes.
The named peaks of Mainalo include Pateritsa at 1,875 metres, Aidini at 1,849 metres and Mavri Koryfi at 1,818 metres. Greece hiking tours reach these summits from the highland plateau.
Mourtzia reaches 1,794 metres and Mesovouni 1,730 metres. Krevatia stands at 1,563 metres and Epano Chrepa at 1,559 metres, while Lioritsi stands at 1,155 metres and Sterna at 1,071 metres.
The ski resort of Mainalo lies at 1,600 metres, with seven slopes and four lifts between 1,550 and 1,770 metres. The fir and pine forests of the upper mountain cover its limestone ground.
Endemic oro-Mediterranean heaths with gorse cover 5.57 square kilometres of the mountain. The Kretania sephirus butterfly is among the insects recorded there. A National Observatory of Athens station stands in the doline of Kehroti.
In the Middle Ages the site of Tripoli was known as Drobolitsa. After 1540 the settlement below the fortress, called Tarabluca, became the next political centre of the plain.
- Unit: The Tripoli municipal unit covers 119.287 square kilometres.
- Population: The population of the Arcadia regional unit fell to 87,000 in 2011.
- Explorer: The explorer Panayotis Potagos came from Vytina.
- Park: In 2010 the new park of Vytina was named after Papa-Anypomonos.
The Arcadia mountain villages post covers the hill settlements of the region. Greece hiking tours in Arcadia join those villages by forest and plateau paths.
Why do Greece hiking tours climb Chelmos and visit Kalavryta?
Greece hiking tours climb Chelmos, also called Aroania, from Kalavryta, a mountain town of Achaea on the right bank of the Vouraikos. The routes join peaks, gorge, monastery and mountain village in the far north of the Peloponnese.
The river Aroanios drains the Aroania mountain towards the southwest and the Ionian Sea. Planitero is a mountain village on its slopes. The Aroania municipal unit covers 173.804 square kilometres, with its seat at Psofida.
The monastery of Agia Lavra keeps the relics of St Alexios in its museum, a gift of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaeologus in 1398. Greece hiking tours in the area pass this monastery.
In early December 1943 a German army division began an operation named Unternehmen Kalavryta. On 10 December General Karl von Le Suire ordered the killing of the male population of Kalavryta.
Operation Kalavryta was mounted from six cities. Patras, Aigion and Corinth lie on the Gulf of Corinth, while Argos, Pyrgos and Tripolis lie in the central Peloponnese of Greece.
On 8 December 1943 that division destroyed the Mega Spilaio monastery and executed 22 monks and visitors there. The Kalavryta municipal unit covers 531.797 square kilometres in all.
- Burning: Troops burnt villages and monasteries and shot civilians on their way to Kalavryta.
- Communities: Twenty-eight towns, villages, monasteries and settlements were destroyed.
- Livestock: The troops seized more than 2,000 livestock in Kalavryta.
- Memorial: The site of the massacre is kept as a memorial.
The Kalavryta tour post covers the town and its surroundings. Greece hiking tours of Chelmos use Kalavryta as their base.
Which northern mountains do Greece hiking tours include?
Greece hiking tours in the northern mountains include Falakro in the east, the Pierian range near Katerini and the Vermio, Voras and Paiko ranges of Macedonia. Their forests, ridges and ski slopes lie on the north side of the Greek mainland.
The Falakro post covers the mountain in the Drama regional unit. The municipality of Kato Nevrokopi, which offers its ski centre, had 5,323 inhabitants at the 2021 census.
The Elatochori ski resort post covers the slopes of the Pierian Mountains near Katerini. Greece hiking tours in the Pierian range use forest roads, ridge paths and open slopes.
The Kato Vermio-Seli community covers 38.915 square kilometres. The city of Naousa, below the Vermio, had 19,706 inhabitants at the 2021 census, and its metropolitan area had 30,054.
Mount Paiko covers 399 square kilometres on the border of Pella and Kilkis, and its highest peak, Gola Tsouka, reaches 1,650 metres. The massif holds the largest chestnut forest in Greece.
The Monastery of Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene stands at 600 metres on Mount Paikos. To the northwest of the massif lies the Monastery of Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, where his skull is preserved.
- Flora: The flora of Mount Paiko includes about 2,500 recorded plant taxa.
- Butterflies: Sixty species of butterflies have been recorded on Mount Paiko.
- Griva: Griva, also called the lame village, has a church of 1800.
- Chestnuts: The chestnut forest of Paiko covers about 4,500 stremmata.
Greece hiking tours in these ranges join ridge paths with forest roads and village lanes, and each range keeps its own season and character.
How do Greece hiking tours use Karpenisi and the Agrafa?
Greece hiking tours use Karpenisi, the capital of Evrytania, as a base for the Tymfristos massif and for the remote villages and gorges of the Agrafa. The mountains here form the southernmost end of the whole Pindus range.
The highest peak of Tymfristos is called Velouchi. The name comes from velos, the Greek word for arrow, because Aetolian archers harassed invading Celts and Persians with their famous archery.
The Holy Prousou Monastery stands in a steep, rocky area between the mountains of Helidona and Kaliakouda and the Panaitoliko range. It is dedicated to the Theotokos and celebrates on 23 August.
Tradition says that the icon of the monastery came from Prousa in Asia Minor and is believed to be the work of Luke the Evangelist. It was carried to Central Greece to escape an iconoclast emperor.
In the years before the Greek War of Independence the cleric Kyrillos Kastanofyllis was sent to the monastery as abbot. Greece hiking tours pass this mountain monastery among its fir trees.
The Agrafa is a mountainous region in Evrytania and Karditsa made up mainly of small villages. The Municipality of Agrafa carries the same name but covers only a small percentage of the area.
- Politician: Georgios Kafantaris, who lived from 1873 to 1946, was a politician from Evrytania.
- Writer: Stefanos Granitsas, from Evrytania, was an artist, writer and journalist.
- Artist: Spyros Paliouras, from Evrytania, was a Greek artist and writer.
- Painter: Lefteris Theodorou, from Evrytania, was a painter.
The Karpenisi tour post covers the town and the villages around it. Greece hiking tours of the Agrafa use the town as a gateway.
Where do Greece hiking tours go around Prespa and Florina?
Greece hiking tours around Prespa and Florina cross the Verno range, the shores of two high lakes and the valleys near the border with North Macedonia and Albania. The routes begin in Florina, a cold town in a wooded valley.
On 16 January 2012 the state civil protection service declared the municipality of Florina in a state of emergency because of low temperatures and intense snowfall. Greece hiking tours here follow the seasons closely.
Lake Prespa holds the freshwater sponge Spongilla prespensis. The biggest island in Great Prespa Lake, Golem Grad, lies in North Macedonia, and the other island, Mal Grad, lies in Albania.
The municipality of Prespes covers 515.497 square kilometres, and its municipal unit covers 413.513 square kilometres. It was formed in 2011 from the former municipalities of Krystallopigi and Prespes.
At the Pateli necropolis in Amyntaio, a systematic investigation has found a total of 358 tombs dating from between 950 BC and 550 BC. The community of Psarades covers 41.064 square kilometres.
- Verno: Makrochori, Vyssinia and Vasileiada are mountain villages in the south of the Verno range.
- Pelagonia: A tract of 137,000 hectares of the Pelagonia plain is an Important Bird Area.
- Biosphere: The Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve joined the UNESCO network in 2014.
- Amyntaio: The municipality of Amyntaio has 14,169 inhabitants.
The Florina tour post covers the town and the lakes beyond it. Greece hiking tours in the area use Florina as their gateway to the Verno range and the Prespa shores.
What do the seasons and safety conditions mean for Greece hiking tours?
Greece hiking tours meet very different weather from range to range, because altitude, rain and snow change greatly from the Peloponnese to the Pindus and Macedonia. Conditions on a mountain differ from conditions in the valley below it.
The climate of the Vikos-Aoos National Park is Mediterranean, changing to continental. Summer brings a drought of two to three months, and the gap between mean maximum and mean minimum annual temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius.
In the Valia Calda park, annual rainfall ranges from 1,000 to 1,800 mm. Mean monthly temperatures there range from 0.9 to 21.4 degrees Celsius, so conditions change sharply with altitude and aspect.
The climate of the Papingo region is Mediterranean, changing to continental, with heavy snowfall in winter and considerable rainfall and humidity in the other seasons of the year.
Kalarrytes has a temperate oceanic climate, bordering on a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, with cool, rainy winters and warm, drier summers on the mountain slopes, and it falls in the Cfb climate class.
- Karst: Water is scarce on the limestone of Vikos because it drains into underground channels.
- Rivers: The Vikos stream is permanent only at the lowest part of the gorge.
- Gorges: The Agrafiotis drains through narrow gorges into the artificial Lake Kremasta.
- Snow: Evrytania is almost entirely mountains, and much of it receives snow in winter.
These records show why Greece hiking tours follow the season of each range, and why a mountain route, a valley route and a gorge route call for different plans.
What do travellers ask about Greece hiking tours?
Greece hiking tours cover Epirus, the Peloponnese, Macedonia and central Greece, with each region built around a gorge, a massif or a plateau. Travellers ask which range suits them, where the routes start, and how weather and terrain shape each walk.
Which Epirus ranges do Greece hiking tours cover?
Greece hiking tours in Epirus cover the Vikos gorge and the Tymphe range in Zagori, Smolikas above Konitsa and the Tzoumerka villages near Arta. The Tzoumerka routes pass the Plaka Bridge and the Arachthos river, and each route keeps to old village paths and river valleys.
Which Peloponnese areas do Greece hiking tours include?
Greece hiking tours in the Peloponnese include the Lousios Gorge near Karytaina, the Taygetus range above the Mani, Mainalo above Tripoli and Chelmos above Kalavryta. Each area has its own villages, monasteries and ski or forest zones, so no two routes feel alike.
Which northern ranges do Greece hiking tours reach?
Greece hiking tours reach Falakro above Kato Nevrokopi, the Pierian range near Katerini, Vermio near Naousa and Paiko on the border of Pella and Kilkis. Karpenisi, the Agrafa, Verno and the Prespa lakes extend the choice into central and western Macedonia.
How does weather affect Greece hiking tours?
Weather decides the form of Greece hiking tours on every range. Rainfall changes with altitude, winters bring heavy snow to Karpenisi, Papingo and Florina, and summer drought dries the Vikos stream. A mountain route and a valley route in the same region meet different conditions.