About Pelion
Pelion is a wonderful, authentic, unspoilt and little known Greek paradise and a protected National Park. There are no high rise hotels or big holiday complexes here, beaches are beautiful and plentiful and not at all crowded, the sea is warm and crystal clear and dolphins are often sighted a little way off shore.
A secret destination which has been known almost exclusively to Greek tourists, Pelion has numerous small villages with cobbled streets and early architecture. Village squares are often centred with a giant Plane tree - some 1000 years old - and in Tsagarada's Agia Paraskevi square is a tree believed to be the oldest in Greece and possibly in Europe. There are useful shops, good bars and numerous excellent tavernas serving fresh local produce and traditional Pelion food such as spetzofai and grilled fish, chargrilled meats, chips, salads, cheese and grilled vegetables, oven baked dishes and very drinkable locally produced wines - often the restaurants have small vineyards and produce their own - along with olives, olive paste and olive oil. The local sheep and goat cheeses are mild, fresh and lovely - Feta. A few dishes reflect the long Turkish occupation of Greece and are cooked with garlic, spices and chillies.
Pelion (pronounced Pilio) has escaped the commercialisation seen on so many of the islands over the last fifty years and remains a friendly and relaxed part of Greece where visitors are warmly welcomed. English has been taught in Greek schools for generations and some is spoken in most shops and restaurants. Any Greek you use - such as kalimera (good morning) and esfkaristo (thank you) - is always appreciated.
Most restaurants, cafes, bars and shops are run by people who have lived in Pelion all of their lives as did their parents and grandparents.
Eating out .... places to visit ... and things to do
A quick look at tripadvisor will reveal a long list of excellent restaurants from simple home cooked family run tavernas to finest dining. Many are rated 5 star by visitors in Pelion with some being hotly encouraged to apply for Michelin stars. Prices for food and drink are far lower in Pelion than on most of the Greek Islands with a freshly cooked evening meal for two people of starters and main courses plus salads, wine and drinks costing less than 40 euros. All restaurants offer a large number of vegetarian dishes - the healthy Mediterranean diet is known for its use of fresh local vegetables, cheeses, home reared and homemade produce.
Restaurants open for lunch (some for breakfast) and usually stay open 'til the wee small hours. Along the coast there are also some late night bars with music.
Car hire is essential to explore the many wonders of the area.
The lovely long Agios Ioannis and Papa Nero beaches with their good traditional tavernas, shops and bars are a three minute drive or can be reached via footpaths (steep on the way back). Agios Ioannis (Saint John) beach is a long stretch of sand and fine white shingle and the beach shelves gently into warm clear water.
There is a wide pedestrian walkway and you can eat at the edge of the beach or in one of the tavernas and cafes that run all along the beach road. Above and behind many of the restaurants are bars offering cocktails and Tsipouro - the traditional Greek spirit which comes in small bottles on ice and can be ordered with or without the aniseed flavour. Tsipouro is usually served with meze - small taster plates from the menu. Each time you order a Tsipouro you receive a different taster dish. 'Special Delight' above a shop in the centre of the village serves excellent traditional food at reasonable prices and has cocktails and a good wine list. 'Ivas' cafe, 'Akti' taverna and the seafood restaurant 'O Christos' are also well worth a visit as is 'Bar Paralos' behind the church. The Tsipouradikos are Galeos Taverna and Stefanis - lots of choise of small meze plates served with tsipouro. And Acrogiali is well worth a visit - a very long established and good traditional grill house run by the local Mayor and his family.
On the road from Aegea to Mouresi is the wonderful Agapatos Suites Hotel with its 'El Resto' romantic restaurant with a fine dining menu, well chosen wine list and superb views.
Just on the left past Lions Nine hotel, is the Tilia Resort and Country Club 1701 which has recently been the subject of a huge refurbishment and no expense has been spared in making it a relaxing and sophisticated experience. Here you can enjoy (free of charge out of peak season and in the height of summer for a cost of 12 euro for two sunbeds) the large crystal clear swimming pool, a pool bar, separate coffee and lunch area, a lovely high terrace for evening cocktails and a separate open air restaurant serving dishes from around the world accompanied by a global wine list - some from the family's own vineyards.
The original house dates from 1701, and the family have owned it for generations. The views are fabulous, there is ample parking and large gardens. The family and staff offer friendly and chic service and it is a lovely place to spend some time.
At one end of Agios Ioannis is a car park and once on foot you can turn left into the village and stroll along the walkway by the beach to the small harbour with fishing boats - from here you can take the rocky outcrop path to Plaka beach. Or from the car park turn right to cross the white bridge to Papa Nero beach with its tavernas and bars nestling under the outcrop. From the far end of Papa Nero beach is a marked footpath to Damouchari.
Plaka - one of the most beautiful beaches in the world with its cool beach bar and lovely terrace restaurant.
A small number of sun beds and parasols can be hired.
The road is signposted 'Eden Hotel' and you find it on your right, just off the road which runs between the Church of Ascension and Kelly Hotel to the top of Agios Ioannis on the harbour side. It is partly tarmacked and partly gravel but is easy enough and you can park for a small charge in front of the Eden Hotel above the beach. Views here are fabulous, the swimming perfect, and the beach is rarely busy except on Sundays in late July and August.
The villages of Mouresi and Tsagarada with their cafes, shops, village squares, old churches and tavernas are about a 10-15 minute drive, as is Damouchari where the original "Mamma Mia" was filmed and which has a small harbour, shops and a few restaurants where you can sit directly over the sea. There is also a separate beach which leads down into deep clear water. You can hire canoes and paddleboards at the harbour to explore the many caves and sandy coves along the coastline.
Kissos, a little higher in the mountain and about an 8 minute drive is a charmingly beautiful village. It tends to be a little cooler in the evenings and airy even on blistering hot days. It has a famous early church with 18th century frescos and several very good tavernas.
Mylopotamous beach (known throughout Greece for its beauty and excellent sea food restaurant) is about a half hour drive and you will pass through the cool forest areas and dramatic waterfals which line the road to Tsagarada with several early squares centred by large churches and surrounded by good restaurants and bars.
From Tsagarada follow the main road for half an hour to reach the old Pelion capital of Argalasti with its striking neoclassical architecture, marble balconies and tree lined central square.
On the road to Argalasti you can turn for Milies and take a trip on the narrow gauge steam train which offers a breathtaking two hour ride with incredible views. Milies and its neighbouring villages have many good shops, bars and restaurants, small hotels and guesthouses. Try 'To Salkimi' (The Wisteria Tree) restaurant in Millies and the bar/cafe 'Anna na Ena Milo'. Continue up from Milies to the authentic villages of Agios Georgious Nilias, Vizitsa and Pinakates or take the road down from Milies towards Kala Nera and Koropi to reach the Pagasetic Gulf beach resorts which are scattered all along the coast from Volos to Trikeri. Platanis on the southern coast has a lovely harbour and long sandy beach with a shimmering stretch of sea which divides Pelion from the mountains of Evia and Skiathos
Crossing from East to West over Mount Pelion you pass through Hania and drive under the ski lifts into the village with its bio/organic honey shops and tavernas and then descend into beautiful Portaria with many highly praised tavernas and fine dining options including 'Kritsa' with a large courtyard to the front and its 18th century neoclassical house. The mountain villages are lovely in summer and winter. Most restaurants open all year round. On Sundays many Greek families come from Volos to eat here and from mid-morning it is busy and vibrant.
Just a mile or two along a side road with its pretty white houses nestled into the steep mountainside is Makrinitsa with its cobbled 'car free' streets and wonderful carved marble fountain in the main square. Here you will find beautiful bars and cafe's, excellent restaurants, a museum and wonderful early buildings housing small shops selling herbs and preserves, gifts and jewellry. Try 'Peliades' restaurant high up on your right as you walk towards the square, wonderful food and cocktails and a view over Volos far below which is truly amazing. It is wonderful in the evenings to watch the town slowly light up from here and is run by an excellent host, Sebastian.
Volos, the capital of Magnesia, is a beautiful city at the foot of Mount Pelion. It sits directly on the coast and has a large marina and a port from where you can take the ferry to Skiathos and Skopelos. A replica of the mythical 'Argo' - which took Jason and his Argonaughts from Volos to capture the Golden Fleece - can be seen in dry dock or floating in the marina here. It was built by local students entirely without glue or nails and is a huge fully operative row boat.
There are a great many restaurants, shops, cafes and bars all along the marina, sea front and flowing on for streets and streets a long way back into the town - interspersed with numerous churches, museums, parks and fountains it is a lovely place to stroll and take in the sights.
Renowned for its traditional Tsipouradikos - restaurants serving tsipouro with meze plates of fish, vegetables and meat - which are particularly popular on Sundays. Volos is a vibrant clean and handsome city with lots of early architecture, beautiful public buildings and long established hotels.
Past the train station is the 'Old Town' with museums, galleries and more restaurants (as good but less expensive than the larger offerings in the centre) and fascinating areas with excavated early Greek archaeology. Try the excellent home cooked delights at the family restaurant called 'Mouseio Eklektopoieion'.
From Aegea or from Volos to the tip of Pelion at Trikeri is about a two hour drive on a single road which follows the coast in places and goes high into the hills in others. Views are spectacular and there are many villages worth visiting on the way including Chorto, Melina, Lafkos, Neo Chori and Siki renowned for its stone and for the monastery of Timiou Prothromou. Potistika with its glorious golden beaches, Platanias an old fishing village with its harbour and wide expanse of beach and lovely Kategorios where you can take a boat taxi to Skiathos. Trikeri itself is divided into the town and the harbour - very pretty small houses and narrow streets with restaurants at the waterside. From here you can take a boat to Trikeri island.
North from the villa are more beautiful beaches and villages including Agios Saranta and Horefto on the road which cuts through a landscape of apple orchards in lovely Zagora.
From December to March the high mountain towns of Portaria and Hania are full of visitors who come for the ski-ing, snowboarding, and for apres ski in the smart cafes and chic bars which encircle the village squares. Many Pelion hotels, and particularly those close to the ski slopes, have extensive spa facilities and the restaurants have roaring log fires. The ski centre is a 15-20 minute drive from the house and is said to be guaranteed snow in January and February.
Mentioned here are just a handful of places to see and visit, but it is recommended that you explore and follow 'your nose' and look for signposts that appeal! Some of the most beautiful villages and village squares are a short distance off the main road with only a few or no houses visible as you pass them.
In Pelion there are twenty-four historic villages in addition to the sea havens and a couple of more modern small settlements. In the 17th and 18th centuries a network of footpaths was spread all over the mountain to link the villages with the port of Volos and with each other. The paths were later paved and safe stone bridges were built, most of them a single arch, over streams and rivers. Distances between villages vary from 15 minutes to three hours with drinking fountains of the icy spring mountain water found at regular intervals along the paths. A wonderful treat for ramblers, these footpaths criss-cross the mountain through wild and beautiful forests and open countryside with unparalleled views, there are steep climbs and descents, streams and waterfalls, and long level paths along the coast. There are challenging all day walks including some which take you high into the mountain and down the other side to the sea, as well as many gentle walks of just a few miles. Footpaths are generally well marked and several local companies offer guided walks. There are a few books and maps in English available on Amazon which set out the better known walks and Greek walking maps can be found in the main towns. Local taxis are reasonably priced and available all year round to pick you up at the end of your walk and tavernas and bars are open all year round in the mountain towns - one or two stay open in the beach resorts also. Walking in the Spring and late Autumn is particularly lovely but you see some people even during the hottest summers and snowy winters walking all year round.
There is a well respected canyoning centre in Tsagarada and many cyclists and runners come to push themselves on the mountain trails. Each August there is the Ultra Trail Pelion - a famously tough and competitive adults only off-road race with three options of distance of 10k, 23k and 80k over steep moutainous tracks and rugged terrain.
Throughout Pelion you will also find well supported community churches - many of the earliest are simple and unadorned outside but splendidly furnished and decorated inside. Some priests and scholars lived in caves along the Eastern coast during the Turkish Occupation of Greece and they conducted church services and ran schools in secret there. You can see and explore the caves by kayak, paddle board and boat.
There are numerous museums, galleries and archaeological sites.
In Greek mythology, Mount Pelion was where the half horse half man 'Centaurs' lived and where Achilles trained. The Gods left Mount Olympus each year to holiday in Pelion and the God of Medicine 'Apollo' made his home there. Jason sailed with his Argonauts from Volos to capture the golden fleece having constructed his boat 'Argo' from beech trees felled on Mount Pelion. Homer and Isodos wrote of its beauties. Pindar and Euripides were inspired by 'many-leaved Pelion' and the mountain and coast are known for a huge diversity of herbs, teas and medicinal plants, flowers and fruits - some unique to Pelion. These were recorded and gathered in ancient times and are still growing wild all over the mountain today. Hippocrates and Socrates came to Pelion to gather wild plants and medicines.
The mountain itself remains aromatically 'healing' due to its endless variety of herbs and as magically enchanting as in Homer's time. In the early Christian era it was known as a 'holy mountain', as Athos is today, and Indian Yogi believe that in places where mountains meet the sea, humans can acquire the power to become like the gods.
The whole of Pelion is stunningly beautiful and visitors usually describe it as the most beautiful place they have ever seen and a 'paradise'.
March 2017 on the narrow gauge steam train from Milies
Local activities
Guided walks and free downloadable maps - www.pilionwalks.com
Boat hire and boat trips - www.activities-pelion.gr/en/activity/47779/east-pelion-mini-boat-tour
Volos and the Argo - www.greekexperience.gr/portfolio-item/the-argo-ship
Milies 'Steam Train' - www.trainose.gr/en/tourism-culture/train-and-recreation/the-pelion-train
Kayaking and canyoning - www.shakayak.gr and mountainescapes.gr
Winter skiing - www.pelionski.gr
Festivals and Events
There are traditional festivals and cultural events throughout the year in Pelion.
Panigiria are outdoor festivals with feasting, dancing and religious celebrations - and are held all over Pelion. The festivals are usually advertised in local shops. Visitors are welcomed and the events are good fun and convivial and continue well into the early morning.
Some of the best known are:
April - Feast of Saint George - a large panigiri in Keramidi
May - Festival of traditional weddings in Trikeri with folk music and traditional clothes
May - Festival of Flowers in Alli Meria
May - Religious feast in Lafkos in the Monastery of Agios Athanasos with music and dance
May - International dance day in Portaria
May - Agois Dimitrios holds the Feast of Agios Ioannis Theologos
June - Tsipouro festival in Katichori near Portaria
June - Cherry festival in Agios Lavrentios with traditional music
July - Festival in Ano Lechonia with markets, concerts, theatre performances and flowers
July - Feast of Agioi Anargiri in Agia Kyriaki on the Southern side of Pelion
July - Feast of the Prophet Elias in Mouresi - a welcoming panigiria in the village square
July - Panigiria in Agios Viasios with traditional music and dance
July - In Kalamos the Feast of Agria Paraskevi with folk music, dance and songs
July - Feast of Agia Paraskevi with traditional music and dance in Lafkos
July - Festival of Sotiras with traditional music and singing in Milies
July - Feast of Agia Marina - a large panigiri in Kissos
July - Sausage festival in Stagites (close to Portaria)
July - Feast of Agios Panteleimonas in Mouresi
July - Fisherman festival in Agria - demonstrations of old fishing customs and fish soup
August - Feast of Panagia in Xourichti village square with traditional dance and music
August - Feast of Agios Ioannis Prodromos - a panigiri in Vizitsa
August - Pear festival in Milies
August - In Kala Nera the feast of Panagia with folk music, dance and songs
August - Milina - a night of cultural events, theatre, concerts and traditional music
August - Feast of Sotiros with traditional music and dance in Mikro
August - In Agios Dimitrios the feast of Metamorphosi Sotiros with folk music and dance
August - In Vizitsa the Feast of Panagia with folk music and dance
August - Agios Lavrentios Feast in the village
August - In Makriarachi and exhibition of flowers in the village square
August - Traditional wedding and international dance festival in Portaria
August - Feast of Agios Fanourios in Mouresi
September - Apple festival in Zagora
September - In Kissos the Feast of Agios Efstathios with traditional music and dance
September - Feast of Timios Stavros in Kato Gatzea
September - In Paltsi the Feast of Agioi Taxiarches with folk music and dance
October - The chestnut festival with local wine
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Pelion, Greece
