The Sacred summits
Explore the two most famous and impressive mountain landscapes of Greece in a single trek. The Greek Gods made their home on Olympus.
Greece's oldest and most protected national park, is not only the highest mountain in the country but it also boasts the greatest concentration of flora and fauna, huge forest expanses and the crystal clear waters of Enipeas River.
The dramatic rocky pinnacles of Meteora with the thriving cliff top monasteries are a sight to behold. One admires at the audacity of the monks who first dared to perch simple shelters on the small tops. Nowadays, the monasteries are much grander, but we enjoy the privilege of reaching them via windy rocky paths among a rocky chaos.
DAY 1
Arrival at the Thessaloniki airport and transfer to a traditional guesthouse in Litohoro village. A
welcome dinner will follow during which you meet the other members of the group and you get
informed about the program. (o/n guesthouse in Litohoro)
DAY 2
After breakfast we are transferred to "Prionia", at an altitude of 3,500 ft (1.000 meters). At the
beginning of the path we see a small waterfall and start hiking through beech and fir forests. As we
continue our way up to 6,000 ft alt. (2.100m), we can admire a variety of woodland birds and
flowers. After 3.5 hours of hiking we reach the "Spilios Agapitos" refuge. The rest of the day is free
to relax to prepare for the next day’s climb to the top of the mountain. (o/n "Spilios Agapitos"
refuge)
DAY 3
We take a path up the cliffs, first reaching the peak "Skala" at 8,280 ft (2.882m) high and later the
peak "Skolios" at 8,365 ft (2.911m) high. From there, we go for the optional side-trip to
"Mytikas" at 8,382 ft (2.917m), Greece's highest peak! The climb to Mytikas involves scrambling
on a well-defined route and steep ascent of more than 2,500 feet on alpine terrain, followed by a
long descent on the same path. After taking some pictures at the top of Mitikas and resting for a
while, we return back to the refuge (6-7h). (o/n "Spilios Agapitos" refuge)
DAY 4
Today we leave the refuge heading for the "Muses Plateau" and the "Yiossos Apostolidis" refuge
at 7,760 ft (2,700m) high. This refuge affords a panoramic view of the dramatic Stefani peak, Zeus'
throne that dominates the plateau. After resting for a while, we return back to the refuge (7-8 h)
(o/n "Spilios Agapitos" refuge)
DAY 5
We set out for our descent back to Prionia from where we are transferred to St Dionissos
monastery. There we walk into Enipeas gorge for a 15' minutes trek and we visit a small waterfall
with a natural river pool (3h). We then return to our guesthouse in Litohoro. In the afternoon, we
have time to visit the natural river pools of "Vithos" in Litohoro Village. (o/n guesthouse in Litohoro)
DAY 6
Early morning after breakfast, we are transferred to the Kastraki village at Meteora, a group of
vertiginous rock towers crowned by monasteries that has been a place of monasticism since the 11th
century. In the afternoon we have a first walk to Kastraki. (o/n Kastraki. Litochoro - Kastraki 151
km, approximately 2.5-hour drive)
DAY 7
Today we walk around western Meteora, following the same old paths the monks used, to find their
way among the tall rock-towers. These paths go up the rocks and take us to the clifftop monasteries,
the high places of the Greek-Orthodox spirituality. We have enough time to visit two of the most
important ones: Megalo Meteoro and Varlaam. (o/n Kastraki)
DAY 8
After breakfast transfer to Thessaloniki airport.
