Hello everyone!!
In this first post I will talk about one of my favorite places in Greece, Mount Pelion. Pelion is a
mountain at the southeastern part of Thessaly, in central Greece. Its shores
are doused by the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean Sea, that’s why, at the ancient
times, it was considered the summer residence of the Olympic gods. Mount Pelion
was also believed to be the natural habitat of the Centaurs, especially Chiron,
who was the tutor of Achilles, Heracles and many other mythological heroes. Its
name derives from the mythical king Peleus, father of Heracles.
Today Mount
Pelion is one of the most famous destinations in Greece, both winter and
spring. Its culinary specialty is spentzofai
(literally translated as “food with peppers”), a hearty stew made of sliced
pork sausage cooked with green and red peppers. From Christmas until Easter the
ski resort is open, so the place gets crammed with eager practitioners of that
type of sports. The mountain slopes are thickly forested and there is an
abundance of streams, gorges and springs.
Pelion has many faces. Being a
mountain that is so closely surrounded by sea, with high peaks and rich flora,
it always has something to offer, even to the most demanding visitor. We only
spent 4 days there, but –as you can also witness from the photos- we had the
chance to get acquainted with various beautiful manifestations of Mother Nature.
There are twenty-four villages in
Pelion, which maintain the traditional Pelian structure and architecture. Among
the most popular are Makrinitsa, Portaria, Tsangarada and Zagora. We decided to
stay in a village named Kissos, located on the eastern slopes of the mountain
and visit the other villages by car.
The village of Kissos is built amphitheatrically
at an altitude of 500 meters above sea level. It is located on the eastern
slopes of the mountain, which offers views to the Aegean Sea (and what views,
really!). Kissos (translated as “Ivy”) has the advantage of being one of the
quietest villages of Pelion, hidden in a dense green forest of chestnut trees,
cherry trees, vines, hydrangeas, apple trees and of course, countless ivy. In
the main village, there are numerous cobbled roads in excellent condition,
organized around the central square. There is also located one of the most
historical churches of Pelion, that of Agia Marina, built in 1960, during the
Ottoman occupation.
The atmosphere had something of a fairy
tale. I can surely get used to reading on the balcony in mid evening surrounded
by that light mist.
The presence of water is undeniable
in Pelion. Due to its high altitudes, the rain water creates streams and little
rivers that pass through its rocky surface to end up in the sea. We stopped to
marvel one of these on our first day of exploring. There was no one around and
we had the whole place to ourselves. So serene! If you visit Pelion in spring
don’t miss the chance to picnic at one of the numerous spots next to waterfalls
and running water, in general.
I personally
expected to have a snowy Christmas on the mountains, but that didn’t happen.
The ski resort was closed and the slopes were bare of snow. I wasn’t too
disappointed though, because I soon realized that Pelion’s unmatched beauty didn’t
need to be highlighted with snow.
Even though it was Christmas time the weather was clear and the sun was shining. That resulted into beautiful blue days, full of sunshine. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip!
My visit to Pelion was definitely a magical and mind-opening
experience for me. I really hope that you enjoyed the post and maybe be a little bit intrigued to know more about this awesome place!
Until next time,
Bisous!
Niki :)
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