Climbing Mount Olympus in 3 days

I pick you up in the morning from your location in Athens or whereabouts and drive for 4,5 hours on the highway to Litochoro, a small town at the foot of the eastern slope of Mt. Olympus and only 3 km away from the Aegean Sea.

Leaving Litochoro, still with the vehicle, we enter the National Park of Olympus. The asphalt road climbs through thick forest and after 18 km, it ends at Prionia at 1.100m. Drowned in vegetation and cooled by the waterfalls of the Enipeas stream, Prionia’s fresh mountain breeze gives its warm welcome immediately. Blending into the forest landscape, there stands a small wooden restaurant where we have lunch. Having filled our flasks with water, we then head up through the forest on a well maintained path to the refuge Spilios Agapitos at 2.100 m. The mountain hut is located at a cozy terrace with an eagle’s eye view down to Mavrolongos gorge and up to the summit region. There we have dinner and rest for an early start the following morning.

Overnight in Mt. Olympus, Refuge Spilios Agapitos (L,D)
Hiking distance:  4,5km / Hiking duration: 3 hours
Elevation gain: 1.000m
Driving distance:
Athens to Litochoro 420km / 4h 30min
Litochoro to Prionia 18km / 30min

We wake up as the morning dew evaporates from the forest, have breakfast and gear up for the summit day. Soon the path leads to the alpine forestless region.

On a wide shoulder, following a zigzagging trail with a magnificent view of the whole east region, we reach Skala summit at 2866m.

Then, you have to descent slightly to the narrow col, follow a rocky gully and finally find your way between the summit gendarmes.

In 1 – 1 ½ hour of partly technically easy scrambling, we reach the highest point Mytikas at 2.918 m.

After you stand on the summit long enough to rest, take pictures and feel fulfilled with your achievement, we begin to descend back to the hut where we spend another night.

Overnight in Mt. Olympus, Refuge Spilios Agapitos (B,L,D)
Hiking distance:  6,5km / Hiking duration: 5,5 hours
Elevation gain: 818m

We enjoy the early morning sounds of the mountain on a terrace of the hut after a well-earned rest, capturing an image of the peaks as they glow in the rising sun light and then head down to Prionia in easy pace.

In Prionia we pick up the car and after a 4 km drive, we make a stop at the famous St. Dionysus monastery.

Built in the 14th century and devastated many times, last by the Nazis in 1943, it has been recently restored and it is open to visitors who want to honor its rich history.

Just a few steps down a wooden ladder, there is the bank of Enipeas, where one can dip their sore feet in the sparkling crystal clear water. We have lunch in Litochoro and in the afternoon we begin our trip back to Athens.

(B,L)
Hiking distance:  4,5 km / Hiking duration: 2 hours
Driving distance:  440km / 5 hours