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Legend has it that
this mountain was the summer resort of the Gods of Olympus
and the magic country of the Centaur. It rises, imposing and
green, above Volos between the
Pagasitic Gulf and the Aegean Sea. Here in the magnetic atmosphere
of the Pelioritic Landscape, history mingles with legend, the wild
with the tranquil, yesterday with today.
It was said by the ancients that
during the battle between the gods and the giants (Gigantomachia)
the latter tried to challenge Olympus by pilling Pelion on Ossa. Mount Pelion
was also the remote home of Cheiron, the wisest of the centaurs,
who played an important part in the Greek fables.
Having encouraged the
marriage of Pileups and Thetis, a Nereid, he
educated their son Achilles, one of the heroes of the Trojan War,
in which Achilles died after being wounded in the heel by an arrow shot by Paris, the only vulnerable part of his body.
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Cheiron was also
responsible for the education of Asklepios, to whom he explained
the use of herbs (medicine) and of Jason who used timber
from Pelion for the boat (Argo) in which he sailed with the 50 Argonauts to Colchis
(Black Sea) to find the Golden Fleece.
But the traces of the Historic course of Pelion
through the centuries are stamped on the ruins of ancient cities, on the
remains of Medieval castles and the monuments of old Christian
basilicas.
From the 12th
century Pelion emerges in the historic limelight as a "monastic city"
thanks to the many monasteries built by monks
of Agion Oros, mainly on mountains and safe sides. |
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As time goes by, around the monasteries new settlements are set
up and as the population moves from the coast these settlements are
organized and become small towns and villages which, during the
Turkish occupation, gain privileges and therefore economic and
cultural prosperity during the second half of the 17th century. The
typical Pelion house is a fortress like three-storey building. The
first and second floors have very few small openings, while the
third floor, which is the summer quarters, is a light construction
with large windows, enclosed balconies and wooden beams that support
the roof. The stained-glass and painted windows alongside the
transparent ones give an unusual look to the overall building.
Around the middle of the 19th c., neo-classical features began to be
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So the big villages of Pelion turn into real museums of folk Art and
Architecture. The haughty figures of the tower-like houses , the
basilica churches with the wood -carved screens and the excellent
frescos, the cobbled paths, the tree-shaded squares, the stone fountains
and the arched bridges have been preserved the unique scenery of Pelion.
This heavenly nature of wild, with no easy access and with lush
vegetation that goes down to the very coasts of the Aegean, its east
side; tranquil, peaceful, studded with picturesque villages and quiet
beaches the west side of the Pagasitic Gulf. The uniqueness of the Greek landscape
is compressed in this Miracle of nature called Pelio. |
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Makrinitsa.
The "balcony" of Pelion ( 700m -2.297 ft). One of the most characteristic
traditional settlements, full of mansions and houses that
look like hanging ornaments on the green mountain side.
The main square (platia) is especially attractive with its
fountain, with the old ages plain trees and its tiny church (18C)
Makrinitsa occupies a magnificent site on a verdant slope facing
Volos Bay: it is pleasant to stroll through the steep and narrow
streets among the splendid old houses, some of them are quite large and
have been well preserved and restored. In one of the
traditional coffee houses there is a big fresco by Theofilos.
The picturesque cobbled paths of Makrinitsa are scattered with
traditional water fountains where waterfowls endlessly
Hania (ski-center)
A village on the mountain,
1200m. above the sea level. It is built in the midst of a thick beech
forest and you have to pass through it when traveling from West to East
Pelion. In the past, a lot of travelers and merchants spent the night at
the hotels there. Today next to the village, at Agriolefkes there is one
of the most beautiful ski resorts in Greece. Skiers glide down the snow
covered slopes gazing at the Pagasiticos on their left and the Aegean on
their right.
SKI CENTRE. Usually one can ski at Agriolefkes from November 20 to April 30 depending on the snowfall.
The centre has a refuge restaurant, snack bar, three
parking lots, a first-aid station, two lifts and two
slopes, beginners' slopes and a network of cross country
trails through beeches.
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Tsagarada:
One of the most
beautiful and well-known villages on Pelion, Tsagarada,
is found right in the heart of the eastern side of the
mountain. Just 50 km from Volos, built at an
approximate height of 1600ft. above sea-level and
outstretched in an area of 12.150 hectares.
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Tsagarada
offers both sea and mountain pleasures; one can swim in
the clear water of the Aegean Sea at its feet, while the
top of the village is very close to Hania, one of the best-organized
Skiing Resorts in Greece. |
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It is a village
with a small population (800 inhabitants altogether),
with luxuriant vegetation, and wonderful beaches,
presenting a great interest in any season of the year to
the discerning visitor.
 Tsagarada is a village of great cultural, social and
economical tradition, organized and still
based on a mixed type of economy (Tourism and Agriculture).
It consists of 4 districts (Aggie Taxiarhes, Agia
Paraskevi, Agios
Stefanos and Agia
Kiriaki), at such a
distance from each other that they almost seem to be
autonomous one from the other ,although linked through a
network of roads, as "Kalderimia" (narrow
traditional stone paths), with streams, arched
bridges, squares, churches, new and old mansions make it an
ideal resting place. At a distance of less than 7 km, there
are two of the best beaches of Pelion: Milopotamos and to the north Fakistra.
Mylopotamos.
This wonderful beach, awarded the E.E.C. 's Blue Flag,
is 7 km away from the village, easily approachable by
two different points in the village. Although well-organized, its
supreme natural beauty remains untouched.
Millies
The cultural
and literary centre of Pelion in the 18thc. with old
mansions, olive groves, kalderimia (cobblestone paths) and
streams galore. The old school house still functions as
the local high school and the once celebrated library has
a collection of old heir-looms and valuable manuscripts.
The church of Pammegiston Taxiarchon, built in 1741,
has a gilded icon screen and wonderful frescoes.
Exactly a
century ago the little train of Pelion started. The
"Volos Milies"
line was designed and constructed by
Evaristo
de Kiriko. Today many years after the closure of the line, the
train has started functioning again. The journey is fascinating passing
through green valleys, gorges, small tunnels and crossing arched
bridges.
Vizitsa On the western slopes of
Mount Pelion there is an atmosphere of class, deep culture, history and wisdom.
A wonderful village which is in absolute harmony with
nature.
There are mansions that stand impressively giving a
wonderful dimension to the area.
Most of them three hundred years old have been restored
to their former glory and turned into a working inn by
the Greek National Tourist Organization.
The
mansions of wealthy Pelion families were
amply fortified.
In this Mansion for
example, a pipe
connects the kitchen
with a portal above
the entrance from which
boiling oil could be
poured on intruders.
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