Mount Olympus Trip Report

In July we completed our recce trip to Greece explore the prospect of a new, short expedition. The expedition included a hike up Mount Olympus (2918m), a day of Canyoning, a trip to Meteora, and then a couple of days in the city. We had a fantastic time and will look to feature a tweaked version of the expedition in the coming years.

Mount Olympus Expedition Team

Day 1 - Travelling to Greece

The whole group flew from Manchester and thanks to a fairly hefty delay with setting off we didn't arrive at Thessaloniki Airport until very late in the day. We were met by our guide and ground handler Akis, who then drove us just shy of 2 hours to the town of Litohoro. We were swiftly given our hotel room keys and off to bed we shuffled.

Day 2 - Dionisios Monastery to Refuge Agapitos

We were graced with a slow rise in the morning, and upon waking up in our beautiful hotel, I popped out onto the balcony and there she was up the valley, Mount Olympus. There is a real charm to arriving into a new destination at night, and then waking to a superb view. We were spoilt at breakfast, eating a continental offering which was seemingly endless.

Once ready, we drove about 40 minutes from Litohoro and parked up near the Agios Dionisios Monastery. We had a wander around this Medieval wonder before getting going with the trek.

The trek started on lush forest trails, and not far in we visited a sacred waterfall. Despite it being so very inviting, a swim was off the cards as it was prohibited. The trail continued to wind it's way up through the forest to the dwelling of Prionia. Here there is a car park, cafe and some toilets, and a place where many people will start their hikes up Mount Olympus. It was at Prionia we met Markos the Shepherd dog for the first time. He actually followed us for a good hour or so, but when the heat got a bit much he disappeared. The trail steepened after Prionia, but the theme of forest trails continued all the way to our accommodation for the night at the Agapitos Refuge. This is apparently the nicest refuge in the whole of Greece, largely thanks to the through traffic up Olympus, and their social media presence.

Upon arrival the staff briefed us on refuge ettiquete and showed us to our room. Mountain refuges vary for place to place. On this occasion, there would be 8 to a room, with each room sporting 4 bunk beds. After getting cleaned up we grabbed a beer and our dinner (Spaghetti Bolognaise / Soups / Greek Salad for most).

It was a satisfying first day, and now at 2100m we'd made great progress up Mount Olympus.

(In total we walked 11.6km, 1400m ascent over 5 Hours)

Day 3 - Refuge Agapitos to Muses Plateau

We all slept well in the refuge. We rose around 6:30am and grabbed our breakfast of bread, cheese, jams and an egg. This is pretty standard fayre for mountain refuges in Europe. It was a beautiful morning, with a little cloud lingering overhead from some overnight rain. The temperatures were definitely cooler than the day before which was only a good thing.

After an hour of hiking we broke out of the tree line, and we were now surrounded by many rugged peaks. As we turned a corner we broke off onto a smaller track, whilst most other hikers continued up a ridgeline. We were off to summit the 2905m peak of Skolio. On our way we bumped into a herd of wild horses which was mighty special.

After writing our names in the summit book a leading ridgeline led us to the summit of Skalia (2,866m). Here, we were to drop non-essential items, pop on our harnesse and helmets, and scramble across to the summit of Mitikas, the highest of all the summits on Mount Olympus.

Roped together in two parties, with Akis in charge of one, and Alexander in charge of the other, we first descended down a gully and across rugged slabs, before climbing up some really interesting broken ground. The scrambling wasn't particularly tricky, but the consequences of a fall in a few key places would be quite severe. By now, the clouds had broken to allow the group some great views from the summit. We spent a while on top taking pictures and revelling in our achievements. Once we had our fill we repeated the scramble back to the summit of Skalia.

Our descent started by heading down the broad ridge we'd seen folks walking up earlier in the day, and then we cut off this to join a traversing singletrack path which was to lead under the impressive cliffs of Mitikas. This traversing path just got better and better, with amazing views falling away at our feet. We rounded a corner and suddenly we were greeted with the Muses Plateau, and up to our left was the 'Throne of Zeus' (an impressive cliff which looks like the back of a throne, and where Zeus would sit and command the people of Earth).

Our accommodation was soon reached, and this was Refuge Apostolidis. Before dinner, we took a quick jaunt up a nearby peak called Profitis Illias, on top of which is a tiny chapel. The dinner offering was much the same, which was OK, as the Spag Bol was again awesome.

(In total we walked 9km, 1250m ascent over around 8 hours)

Day 4 - Muses Plateau to Gortsia

It had been floated the previous night to head up another nearby peak called Toumba before breakfast to see the sunrise. The 5:00am alarm came around all to quickly, but the group were soon outside and hiking the short distance to the summit. We were well rewarded for our efforts as the sky slowly went orange.

After breakfast, we started our hike across the Muses plateau, enjoying large herds of mountain goatas as we went, as well as the company of two stray dogs. We crossed the Giosos Pass and then enjoyed some sublime walking across yet another leading ridgeline. The group soaked up their final views of the high peaks before dropping into the forest. The trail weaved it's way downward, and we took regular stops to soak up the views out towards the sea.

After 3 hours we took an extended stop at another refuge called Pestrostrougka. From here we hiked for 2 more ours through gorgeous forest to the finish at Gortsia. Our hike of Mount Olympus had come to an end, and what a superb 3 day trip it had been.

We headed back to Litohoro, where with a sunny day on the cards, we all jumped into a taxi and went to the beach for a swim, Greek food and some light rehydration!

Day 5 - Canyoning

Canyoning is where you ascend or descend a river, often by scrambling over rocks, jumping into pools, or even abseiling down a rope. We met our superb canyon guides and got kitted up into wetsuits. A 30 minute walk took us to our entry point. We were in the canyon for about 3 hours, during which time we completed a few short abseils, some jumps, and even some natural slides.

Everyone had an amazing time, and this activity really is suitable for people of all abilities. Some folks had never abseiled before, and we even had one non-swimmer who did amazing!

After the canyon we took the opportunity to relax for the afternoon and then enjoyed a great meal down by the river in Litohoro.

Please note that the following days won't feature on future Mount Olympus expeditions but they are worthwhile extensions for people with more time

Day 6 - Meteora Activity Day

We left Litohoro for the final time and travelled roughly 2 hours to Meteora. Meteora has some incredible sandstone towers, on the top of some are monasteries. It is a mythical looking place, and a real sight to see. We kicked off our day with a Via Ferrata / Scramble for a couple of hours on a route called 'Way of the Monks to Agia'. On our descent, our guides Akis and Alex surprised us with a Greek picnic of fresh bread, tomatoes, cheese and cucumber. It was such a treat! Alex, who is a local to Meteora, was keen to show us some more sights, including the ancient mountain cells where the monks once lived.

There was a bit of a heatwave going on, and with the temps being over 40 degrees we retreated to the cool rooms at the hotel for a few hours. At 7:30pm the group hiked to the top of one of the towers and enjoyed the sunset, after which we went to a Greek Taverna and enjoyed a plethora of Greek Cuisine. A superb way to sign off the day!

Day 7 - Meteora to Thessaloniki

The drive to Thessaloniki took about 4 hours including breaks, and when we arrived in the city the group were keen to cool off with a dip in the sea. We literally dropped our bags and went down to the harbour to get on a waterbus across the bay to where the beaches are. We had a lovely few hours swimming in the warm ocean, and once back in the city we all popped out for some food and drinks.

Day 8 - Thessaloniki City Day and Depart

With a late flight on the cards we spent the day mooching around the city, seeing the sights, and also doing some shopping. We transferred to the airport mid-afternoon and flew back to Manchester.

All in the Mount Olympus expedition is a super holiday trek. The varied terrain, ace views, lovely people, and lack of requirement to acclimatise make this a real treat. We look forward to getting this expedition into our roster as a regular trip.

Meteora