In the footsteps of the gods
Telegraph Escorted Tours supplement
Published on Saturday May 9, 2009
Greece isn’t all about sun, sea and ouzo. Walkers should take a road less travelled to its mountainous interior, says Chris Alden.
A cobbled track winds up the side of a gorge toward a ruined monastery, perched on a wild and windswept outcrop of rock. The cicadas are chirping and, somewhere down in the valley, you can hear the dull clanking of a bell worn by a mountain goat. In the distance, you see nothing but ever-diminishing hills.
Now you know why they call this the land of the gods.
If your image of Greece is of lying on a sandy beach all day, pausing only to eat meze and drink ouzo at night, think again. Greece is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe – and a walking tour is a great way to step back in time, and see the land as it once was. Here are a few of the regions to visit.
Mount Olympos
Where better to start than to climb the highest peak in Greece, legendary home of the Greek gods? The mountain, in the Macedonia region of northern Greece, boasts foothills flanked with forests of scented pine, scarred with deep and dramatic gorges – but as you ascend to its alpine heights, you pick your way over rocks and scattered wildflowers, and the mood changes to an other-worldly calm.
The summit is called Mytikas – but there’s nothing mythical about the thigh-wrenching climb to the 2,917m peak, which is attempted after a night in a mountain refuge.
• Walks Worldwide offers an 8-day Crossing Mount Olympus tour, including a summit ascent, departing May 30 or June 20. From £795pp, including accommodation in hotels and refuges but not flights to Thessaloniki. (01524 242000, www.walksworldwide.com)
Mount Pelion
You wouldn’t think that the legendary home of the Centaurs –the mythical creatures with a body of a horse and the torso of a man – could be one of Greece’s best-kept secrets. Yet somehow, the peninsula of Mount Pelion, where they are said to have wandered, escapes the island hordes.
Walking through the well-maintained kalderimia (cobbled mule tracks) on Pelion is a delight – as you experience the peninsula’s two different climates – its south-facing slopes with evergreen Mediterranean pines, and the cooler, north-facing slopes with its forests of chestnut.
• Walk Pelion offers a 7-night Walk Pelion tour, including five guided walks, departing Fridays until June 12 and from September. From £575pp, including self-catering accommodation. (0871 218 1019, www.walkpelion.com)
Crete
Yes, you know Crete for its resorts and sunny beaches – but head south, and you’ll have to cross one of Greece’s wildest and most inaccessible mountain ranges. The Cretan mountains were home to an active resistance during World War Two, assisted by bands of classically educated Brits – and to walk here still feels like heading back in time, even though the goatherds might now drive 4×4s.
A classic Cretan tour is to ascend Mount Gingilos, in the White Mountains on the west of the island – and then the next day to walk down the Samaria Gorge, a giant scar in the landscape which narrows to only three metres across, before depositing you on the shores of the Mediterranean – in time for a welcome swim.
• Kumuka Worldwide offers a 12-day Trekking the Greek Islands tour, including walks in Crete, Santorini and Naxos, departing June 19. From £1,935pp, including accommodation but not travel to Athens. (0800 068 8855; www.kumuka.com). See also Cretan Adventures (www.cretanadventures.gr).
Mani
Made famous by the travel writer (and keen walker) Patrick Leigh Fermor – who wrote a book about it and settled down here – Mani is an arid, starkly beautiful peninsula reaching down from the southern tip of mainland Greece.
The peninsula had a centuries-long tradition of feuding among local families – who built stone towers as status symbols, and tried to smash the roofs of their rivals’ towers. These towers are now dotted all over the peninsula – and you can explore them on a walking tour, along with clifftop chapels, monasteries and secluded coves.
If you’re visiting Mani, you should also take the chance to visit Mystras – where you can walk among the ruins of one of the most powerful cities of the Byzantine empire, just a short distance from ancient Sparta.
• ATG Oxford offers a 10-day Mani & Mystras tour, including seven Mani walks and a visit to Mystras, departing September 22. From £1,945pp including accommodation but not flights to Athens. (01865 315678, www.atg-oxford.co.uk).
Halkidiki
Halkidiki is the three-pronged peninsula that juts down out of north-eastern Greece – and walkers come here for relaxing walks through olive groves and fragrant pine forests, with perpetual sea views.
The peninsula is perhaps most famous for being the home of Mount Athos – Greece’s “holy mountain”, off-limits to women and most tourists, and inhabited only by Orthodox monks – but don’t worry, because the rest of the peninsula is accessible to all walkers, and you certainly don’t need to set foot on the mountain to enjoy the sight of its forested, unspoiled slopes rising out of a crystal blue sea.
• Travelsphere offers an 8-day Walking in Halkidiki tour, including four walks and a cruise to the coast of Athos, departing September 24. From £869pp including flights from London Heathrow and accommodation; other departure airports offered. (0870 240 2426, www.travelsphere.co.uk)
Evia
Like Mount Pelion, Evia is one of the places where the Greeks go on holiday. It’s easily accessible from Athens, but its bleak and rugged interior is largely unspoilt, making it a good destination for those who want to escape the worst excesses of package tourism.
The island’s landscape is dotted with medieval castles, traditional villages, ancient churches, and even the odd vineyard – and all, happily for walkers, within a few miles of the beach.
• Just You offers an 8-day Walking on the Greek Island of Evia tour, aimed at single travellers, including six walks, departing May 23 and three dates in autumn. From £799pp including flights from London Heathrow and accommodation; other departure airports offered. (0870 252 8080, www.justyou.co.uk)
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