Mount Olympus &
The Pindos Mountains Trek

Suggested Itinerary

DAY 1 FLY LONDON TO PREVEZA
Morning flights from London to Preveza airport on the west coast of the Greek mainland. On arrival we make the two hour transfer by road to Ioannina. We continue on to the mountains of central Zagoria and the villages of Vitsa and Monodendri, arriving in the afternoon/early evening. There may be time to explore the two villages before dinner.

DAY 2 VIKOS GORGE
Vitsa - Vikos Village. Early in the morning we descend the old Vitsa stairs, a steep but well-made path, into the spectacular Vikos gorge (sometimes called the Greek Grand Canyon). 12km long, 1,350m deep and 980m wide. Traversing the ravine we can admire the numerous wild animals, birds and flowers which find protection within its rocky walls. We ascend to Vikos village where we stay overnight. (7 hours walking).

DAY 3 VIKOS - PAPINGO
We cross the Voidomatis River and take footpaths uphill to Mikro Papingo. Above are the great limestone buttresses, the Towers of Papingo which contain the deepest vertical cave in Europe. At the natural swimming pool near the village entrance we can enjoy a swim and a rest, before arriving at our traditional pension (4 hours of walking.)

DAY 4 PAPINGO - DRAGON LAKE - ASTRAKA HUT
We climb uphill onto Mount Astraka, and reach the Astraka hut at 1950m for a break. Later we continue up to the beautiful Drakolimni - the Dragon Lake (2100m) before returning and overnighting at the Astraka Hut (6 hours walking).

DAY 5 ASTRAKA HUT - TSEPELOVO
Today we make an early start from the refuge and hike across a mountain pass between Astraka peak (2436m / 8038ft) and Gamilla peak (2497m/8240ft). We follow shepherds trails and mule tracks over high pastures before making a fairly steep descent to the village of Tsepelevo (6.5 hours walking).

DAY 6 TSEPELOVO - ROSSA PASS - VRISSOHORI
Today we cross the high Tsouka Rossa pass (2,350m) and descend through black pine and beech forest to the remote village of Vissihori overlooking the wild and forested Aoos valley. (7-8 hours walking). Overnight Vrissohori.

DAY 7 AOOS RIVER
We continue our walk by crossing the Aoos River. It is then a fairly easy climb up through woodland to the village of Pades, where we can take refreshments before continuing on to our overnight camp in a meadow on the lower slopes of Mt. Smolikas. (4 - 5 hours walking).

DAY 8 ASCENT OF MOUNT SMOLIKAS
An early start today as we continue our ascent of Mt Smolikas, the second highest mountain in Greece at 2637m/8650ft. Through pine forest initially, and by tumbling mountain streams, the final ascent to the summit is over rock of red serpentine. We follow the mountain ridges east before making our descent to Samarina, summer village of the Vlach community. (6-7 hours walking.)

DAY 9 DRIVE TO LITOCHORO
From Samarina we have a long drive across northern Greece to Litochoro at the foot of Mount Olympus. En route there will be an opportunity for a brief visit to the famous monasteries of Meteora near Kalambaka. During and after the 11-12th C Byzantine monks built a remarkable series of monasteries in easily defensible positions atop these immense pinnacles of rock. Several of the monasteries are open to the public and attract large crowds in season. Overnight Litochoro Hotel.

DAY 10 TREK TO MOUNT OLYMPUS HUT
From Litochoro we have a 30 minute drive to Prionia. From there we walk up to the Spilios Agapitos hut where we spend the night. 4 hours walking.

DAY 11 CLIMB MOUNT OLYMPUS
Today we have an opportunity to reach one of the summits of Mount Olympus (the highest peak involves awkward scrambling and is not possible). Our experienced guides will escort us to the summit and back. We return to the refuge where we collect our overnight gear and descend to Prionia. Minibus from Prionia to Litochoro. Overnight in Litochoro.

DAY 12 TRANSFER TO IOANNINA
We travel by road back across the Pindos range to Ioannina where we are transferred to our accommodation. The rest of the day is free to explore the town of Ioannina and its old neighbourhoods as well as Pamvotis island, which has shops with silverware products, a bakery and several taverns specialising in trout from the lake. On the island there are several ancient churches and a museum to visit. It was also the last retreat of the nineteenth century despot Ali Pasha.

DAY 13 FLY HOME
We transfer by road to Preveza airport for our flight home.