Day1. Depart for Volos, starting point of the tour to Mount Pelion. Anakassia, is the first village we meet. We stop and visit the painter's Theophilos (1873-1934) museum. Theophilos, though born on Lesvos island, spent part of his life in the area. The road continuous to climb towards Portaria with a view over Volos Bay. Portaria, a pleasant resort, offers a view to Makrinitsa and down over Volos Bay. Beautiful village square with cafes, restaurants and traditional houses. 6km. to the right of Portaria we come to the village of Makrinitsa occupying a magnificent site facing Volos Bay. Makrinitsa is the most beautiful village of Mount Pelio. Take a stroll through the narrow stone paved kalderimia among the well preserved and restored old houses called "Archontiko" and enjoy your dinner over the city of Volos. The main square is especially attractive. Overnight here, in Makrinitsa
Day 2. Taking the road via Portaria we continue to climb to the village of Hania 1200m. just under Agriolefkes, a winter sports resort (ski lift), set in chestnut woods. From here there is a road to the summit of Mt. Pelion but we descend towards Zagora, an important centre of Greek culture. The village produced hand-woven cloth exported from the nearby port of Horefto, a fishing village with a long sandy beach. Continue driving from here to Mouresi and the sea resort of Agios Ioannis. Tsagarada is the next village we meet. A peaceful resort with houses built among trees. The village boasts one of the oldest and largest plane trees in Greece (15m diameter). The nearby sea resort of Mylopotamos is well known between the Greek holiday makers. From here we continue to Millies and Vizitsa a village with typical old mansions for overnight. The village of Millies, is a pleasant resort, centre of Greek culture while under the Turks. The local library contains some rare volumes of history books. The road back to Volos follows the line of the famous Pelion railway (the Mountzouris) along the shore of the bay.
Day 3. Spend the morning in Volos and return to Athens in the evening.
Hiking in Pelion.
More than 500 km of paths, trails and tracks offer many opportunities for walking in Pelion. Unfortunately the old cobbled trails linking the villages has been largely destroyed. However, there still remain many mountain paths to hike on. The suggested routes are not particularly demanding for a hiker in good physical condition. However, if you are not an experienced hiker it's better to attempt some short hikes first, to check out your abilities.
The routes suggested here run on well preserved mountain paths with only very small stretches of dirt tracks:
a) Milies - Tsagkarada (being the most "mountaineering")
b) Kala Nera - Milies
c) Tsagkarada - Damouhari.