The Greek Gods made their home on Olympus. Not only the highest mountain in the country, Greece’s oldest and most carefully protected national park, also boasts the greatest concentration of flora and fauna, huge expanses of forest and the crystal clear waters of the Enippeas river. Above it all, soars the 2911m peak of Skolio (2nd highest peak) from where we, like Zeus, can survey the world. The dramatic rocky pinnacles of Meteora with their thriving cliff top monasteries are a sight to behold. One marvels at the audacity of the monks who first dared to perch simple shelters on the tiny summits. Nowadays the monasteries are much grander, but we take the privilege of reaching them via windy rocky paths among the rocky chaos.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival in Athens. Meet at the airport with your English speaking guide. There is one major transfer from the newly built airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” to the hotel, which is conveniently located in the heart of Athens. Settle to the hotel. In the evening meet with your guide for a short walking tour of Athens and enjoy dinner in a traditional Greek tavern in the old part of Athens, in Plaka.
Day 2: From Athens travel to Litochoro and walk to refuge A (Athens-Litochoro 387 km, approximately 6 hours drive). After breakfast depart for your drive to Litochoro. Lunch in a tavern on the way. Early in the afternoon, transfer to Litochoro, and then Prionia from where we begin our walk, at an altitude of 1.000 meters, we walk through shady beech and fir forests, where we should see a variety of woodland birds and flowers. We continue our way up to 2.100m alt. and reach the refuge.
Day 3: Peak ascents. (Estimated Walking Time 4 - 6 hours) We take a path going up the cliffs and we reach first Skala at 2.882 meters and then Skolio at 2.911 meters. From here we make the optional side-trip to Mytikas (2.917meters), Greece’s highest peak! N.B. This involves some scrambling on a well-defined route. We then go back to the refuge (4-6 hours).
Day 4: Plateau of the Muses – Refuge B. (Estimated Walking Time 3 – 4 hours) We leave the refuge after breakfast towards the Plateau of the Muses, and on to the second refuge at 2,700 m. The dramatic peak of Stefani, the throne of Zeus, dominates the plateau.
Day 5: Walk through Enippeas gorge to Litochoro. (Estimated Walking Time 6 – 7 hours) After an initial sheepish descent, we enter the Enippeas gorge, passing a cave-chapel and the monastery of St. Dionysus, as well as taking advantage of several swimming opportunities en route in river pools. After about seven hours walking, the gorge opens up on the outskirts of Litohoro.
Day 6: Travel to Meteora. Transfer from Litohoro to Kalambaka in the nearby village of Kastraki. (Litochoro-Kastraki 151 km, approximately 2,5 hours drive).
Day 7: Walk and monastery visit. Walk around western Meteora, following the same old paths the monks used to use, which wind their way amongst the tall rock-towers. These paths go up to the rocks and take us to the cliff top monasteries, the high places of the Greek-orthodox spirituality. We will have enough time to visit two of the most important ones: the Megalo Meteoro, and the Varlaam.
Day 8: Return to Athens. After breakfast, we drive back to Athens. (Kastraki-Athens 350 km, approximately 5,5 hours drive).
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Prices:
- 800€ for 12-16 persons
- 900€ for 9-11 persons
- 1200€ for 6-8 persons
- 1400€ for 4-5 persons
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Greece
Walking Tours
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