Travel Guide to the Pelion Mountain, Greece
Pelion is a mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly in the northern Greece.
According to Greek mythology, it was the summer residence of the gods of Olympus and the home of the centaurs.
The mountain is forested, had about 70 villages and a lot of farms.
You will find something interesting for yourself in any season, no matter if you are traveling in winter or summer.
I will put here some places or information about what you can do and visit at Pelion.
🏘 Portaria
Portaria is a traditional village. It located 12 km from the Volos. Portaris is quite touristic and knowns as the "Gate of Pelion".
The central square "Melina Mercouri" is perhaps one of the largest in Pelion. You can find a lot of cafes, taverns and shops here.
Portaria's distinctive feature is its large Thessalonian-style mansions with stone roofs. Most of them have now been restored and function as guest houses.
🏨 Erofili Hotel (Portaria)
I stay in the "Erofili Hotel" in Portaria for several days. This is a good place to watch sunsets before going to bed.
They have own small parking near the hotel.
We visited this village in April and the heating in the room was quite intense. Sometimes we opened the window to make it less warm.
🥘 Kritsa Restaurant (Portaria)
I noticed that each village has a central square and a big tree on it and the church is nearby. This place is not an exception and the restaurant is located right near the tree.
Centaurs' path (Portaria)
You could walk following the footsteps of the legendary Centaur Chiron - the best-known Centaur, the teacher of Hercules and Jason. He was the first who use herbs to treat illnesses and injuries. According to myths, Chiron belonged to the famed race of Centaurs descended from gods and were wise, just and good-hearted and supportive for humans.
Centaurs' path is a 2.7 km long circular route. It divided into two ways. The first, easier to walk, ends in the center of the village (1.6 km), and the second way, also the longest, ends at the exit from the village.
Here is the map of this path:
The municipality has hike & bike routes on the site if you are interesting in such type of activities.
Church of St. Nicholas (Portaria)
The church is located to the north of the main square. Constructed in 1884, this church exemplifies the classic three-aisled basilica style.
This church has the unique Holy Altar placed on a marble pedestal, giving a special grandeur to the services.
🛍 Agora 1955 (Portaria)
"Agora 1955" is a cafe and a shop at the same time.
You can buy a couple bottles of wine here, some mountain tea or other local products.
Regarding the cafe, if you are going to visit it on some national holiday - it will be better to book a table in advance.
🧺 Farms
There are a lot of farms that provide unique experiences with different food, drinks and activities.
🧺 Karaiskos Farm
This is the place where you could stay for a couple of days or just visit and participate in a lot of activities with your family.
They have fruit and vegetable gardens so you can eat fresh food during your stay there. The farm also keeps animals like ponies, goats, chickens, donkeys, rabbits and others.
If you don’t know what else you can do, the farm offers cooking lessons, master classes and various events on fresh air.
They hold a culinary festival every September with stands for the exhibition, sale of local products, tastings, demonstrations and more.
If you are an active person - you can do sports on the farm like archery, horse riding or cycling.
🧺 Koumoutsi Farm
"Koumoutsi Farm" is located on the main road from Portaria village to Chania. They sell natural products like olives, olive oil, apple vinegar, 10 types of honey and others.
The farm also offers visitors royal jelly, bee pollen, propolis and natural beeswax.
🍇 Wineries
Pelion has a lot of wineries. Here are some examples below.
🍇 Milea Winery
"Milea Winery" is a family business with a couple of vineyards that started its history in 2006. The area is surrounded by cypress trees which became a symbol of winery and are pictured on their logo.
They cultivate grapes like Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Assyrtiko.
They are open to the public and private events bookings.
🍇 Patistis Winery
"Patistis Winery" is also a family farm. They have been making wines since 1980. In addition, they also produce olive oil. Its first bottling was in 2015.
The farm focused on the cultivation of local Greek varieties such as Assyrtiko, Xinomavro and Roditis.
You can visit the winery by appointment. You will have the opportunity to walk the vineyards, visit the winery and taste some of their wines.
🗼 OTE Tower
Once you come to Pelion, you will most likely want to get higher. Since the road to the very top is prohibited, you can go to the OTE tower which will be on the way.
The road is paved, but old, especially towards the end it requires attention, so drive there slowly.
It feels like civilization and life have left this place. You can't go upstairs to the tower, you can watch only.
Be careful in cold periods as icicles may fall from it.
🏘 Makrinitsa
Makrinitsa is placed at an altitude of 600 m above the sea level. To be more precise, it was built as an amphitheater on a steep slope. That is why the difference between the lower and upper parts of the village is about 400 m above sea level.
It overlooks the city of Volos and the gulf of Pagasitikos, which is why the village is known as the “Balcony of Pelion”. This description of Makrinitsa was given in 1934 by the then Prime Minister of the country, Eleftherios Venizelos. He visited the village and was amazed by the view.
You will find an old sycamore near a fountain on the central square (also known as "Peace Square"). The "Immortal Water Fountain" of 1809 with copper lion heads from which flow the spring water into a little pool below.
Τavern tables are located in the open air there occupy the lower part of the square and have a panoramic view.
There is also the Holy Church of Saint John the Baptist which was built in 1792.
There are 2 museums: Folk and Byzantine.
The Byzantine Museum has relics from the 13th to the 20th centuries
🏘 Tsagkarada
Tsagkarada is another tradition village of this area.
At the main square, near Agia Paraskevi church, there is a big platanus. Perhaps the older of Greece. It is said it has at least one thousand years. It has a perimeter of nearly 20 meters.
Tsagarada is known for its beaches due to its crystal clear, blue-green and extremely clear waters.
🌊 Milopotamos Beach
Mylopotamos beach is one of the most famous in Greece due to its impressive landscape and steep cliffs ending in a beautiful sand and pebbly beach. The distinctive feature of this beach is divided into two parts by a rock jutting out into the sea. However, the two beaches are connected by a natural passage through the rock.
You need to leave your car and reach it on your foot. The parking area you can find near "Aggelika Fish Taverna". The Milopotamos beach will be on the left side, but if you take a look on the right - you will see a small house and a church with a bell. They were totally white. There were a lot of pink flowers (Hottentot-Fig) when I was here in April.
Also, there are other beaches here: Fakistra, Papa Nero, and Agios Ioannis.
🌊 Damouchari Beach
Damouchari Beach is bordered by rocky cliffs on both sides.
It is known for its round, white pebbles.
This area was filmed in the "Mamma Mia!" musical movie also. Inhabitants of Damouchari become extras in the film.
🏂 Pelion Ski Centre
"Pelion Ski Center" was founded in 1967 and is located at an altitude of 1,471 meters above the sea. It operates from the beginning of December to the end of March.
The center offers trails for all: beginners, intermediate skiers and experienced snowboarders.
It is served by 5 lifts including a baby lift.
Other activities in the area include gun shooting, horse-riding, cycling, climbing and hiking.
🏘 Volos
Volos most likely will be your first point of the trip to the Pelion and you'll return back to it after going down from the mountain.
You can take a closer look at Volos. It has a nice waterfront with a lot of yachts where you can walk.
🚆 Train
You can take a ride on the oldest train track of Pelion. This old train rides from Ano Lechonia to Milies. It’s a beautiful track and the train crosses several bridges and a tunnel.
It rides every weekend and in the summer it runs daily. It departs at Ano Lechonia at 10 AM and from Milies at 3 PM. The ride takes about 90 minutes and there’s a 15 minute stop at Ano Gatzea.
The schedule you can find on the Hellenic Train site.
🎁 Souvenirs
It is nice to have some good memories from the trip. More nice will be sharing this memories with other or to keep something for yourself to make memories longer. Here some information that might help you.
The majority of villages have local shops which are selling traditional products of the region. You could take a look, but here are some points for your attention.
🍷 Wine
There are a lot of wineries on the Pelion mountain. I describe a couple of them in the article above. You can choose a bottle from there or to visit one of the local shops.
🫖 Tea
This mountainous region has a variaety of herbs, aromatic and pharmaceutical plants. For example Greek sage, thyme and the Greek Mountain Tea.
The last one from the list has a positive affect for skin, teeth, metabolism, and digestion. It is also used as an anti-inflammatory drug for maintaining respiratory health and the immune system.
🥣 Jam
The mountain inhabitants do a plenty of jams. It could be done from different fruits. This preserves could be use like a spoon sweet.
🍎 Apples
This region has variety of small apples - Firiki. They have an elongated, cylindrical shape.
It has been grown in the foothills of Pelion since the 18th century. Until 1960 it was the main apple variety in Pelion. Today, unfortunately, its production has reduced, and this is due to the fact that consumers prefer other varieties of apples mainly due to ignorance or cost.
✍ Pieces of Advice
✅ It will be better if you go to the Pelion by car. In this case, you will have a great ability to explore this mountain in full.
✅ Drive carefully. There are a lot of narrow places and sharp turns.
✅ Маке a technical inspection of your vehicle before a trip.
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