There is a route of about 70Km at the back side of Mt. Olympus that makes you wanna live there for ever! The food is awesome cause most of the people there are breeders or farmers and their products are always fresh. The road is between Mt.Olympus and the Pierian Mountains, which means that the view is always going to be green and thick mountains of pines and beeches. There, you can still find authentic and nice people living their peaceful lives!
Some of the villages worth visiting is Elatochori, Ano Milia, Petra, Agios Dimitrios and Livadi. Elatochori lies on the Pierian Mountains and sees Mt. Olympus in front, has a central square with the church, the old men drinking coffee, the school and a big “balcony” to enjoy the view to mount Olympus. There is also an interesting folklore museum to see how the past generations use to live that opens upon request (00302315082942, mob6948128104).
Next, we meet the village Ano Milia and the refuge of E.O.S where you can ask to drink delicious sweet wine and eat the best wild boar ever tasted! If you drink too much wine you can spend the night there cause there are two dormitories: the first has capacity of 20 people and the second 30 people (shared bathroom) and wake up in the morning with a magnificent view of Thermaikos gulf and Halkidiki! There are easy, medium and difficult trails for everyone and a big fireplace for those who like to stay in and enjoy warmth. If you need anything else contact me or Mr. Zachos Athanasios (mob: 00306931157248) so we can help you.
Then there is Petra village that is a place where you can see a lot of trekkers starting or ending the trail to/from Rema Naoum and Christakis refuge of Mt. Olympus. There is not much to see there but there is soft and delicious gobbets to eat. I don’t eat meat regularly and I don’t like that taste of fat in my mouth, but this meat was really amazing!
Agios Dimitrios is a village very close to the others and you have to go through it if you wanna reach Livadi. In Livadi there is an old Orthodox church from 18th century with wooden reredos which its’ columns are made of tree boles. In Livadi you will visit the house of Giorgakis Olympios who was a leading figure of the Greek Revolution, which is right next to “voskos” the Shepherds Association, where you can purchase high quality traditional cheese products. There are stone cobbled roads you can walk and get lost into this beautiful village and feel the vibe of the mountain. Finally, the pies, the giaprakia, the famous “zigouri” and the meatballs that the ladies of the women cooperative “sofras” cook, taste like heaven. So, try to taste some of those foods, cause that’s a real cultural lesson!
It could be the plan for a week long road-trip, a weekend full of wanderlust or just a day trip to escape the urban landscape. Is only 1,5 hour away from Thessaloniki and the ideal route to choose if you traveling across Greece. If you have more info about those places, please leave a comment below or if you need more info do not hesitate to ask.
Be my guest! If you need some company to drive you around, you can find me here with an e-mail. 🙂
Put some good music, relax and enjoy the trip!
T.G.
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