We present the Highlander Olympus Trek in Greece
We present the Highlander Olympus Trek in Greece
Peter joins the Highlander Adventure Team on Greece's highest peak to explore the new Highlander Olympus Trek, which starts next year
trekking may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a visit to Greece. Ancient ruins penetrated by mythology, island hopping through the Aegeans or feasting the country's delicious cuisine will probably all register first. Enter Olympus, the highest and legendary of all Greek mountains.
The massively houses a network of hiking trails and mountain huts to support hikers on the slopes of the legendary “Throns of the gods”. According to legend, Zeus, the king of the gods in Greek mythology, lived on the highest point of the country on the 2,902 m (9,521 foot) High pre -summit by Stefani, also known as throne of the zeus).
The Highlander Olympus Trek, one of the latest additions to the Highlander Adventure collection, should start this year, but was postponed due to local locks. Therefore I was invited to take part in a shorter three -day event on the mountain to explore the route and some of the highlights of the trail.
Highlander Olympus trekking
distance: 102 km (64 mi) ascent/descent: 6,338 m/6,337 m Further information: Highlanderadventure.com
The Highlander Wand Highland Olympus takes hikers on an exciting journey through a national park that is rich in history, culture and ecological diversity. The area around the Holy Mountain in the oldest national park in Greece houses over 1,700 plant species, 100 types of birds and 30 mammals, including wolves, jackals and Greek chamois
The slopes below the tree line are densely forested in some places, while the higher rock peaks are often wrapped in clouds, which often makes the summit invisible for the mortals living in the valley.
Atlas & Boots Our campsite at the Agia Triada
The path begins and ends in the village of Litochoro, circles the south of the mountain before turning north and then leading the lower slopes and summit combats to the east. Our team planned to complete sections of the trail and use vehicles to move between control points and trailheads.
I met the team in Thessaloniki, the closest international airport to the Olympus chain, and went to the checkpoint two, a small campsite outside the Agia Triada monastery near the tiny village of Sparmos.
We tented for the night before we drove to the Christaki Adlucht, the location of Checkpoint three in the morning. The shelter located at around 2,430 m (7,972 FT) is often used as a starting point for day hikers who want to climb Olympus as quickly as possible because they can be reached with a 4 × 4 vehicle. Most of the most multi -day hikers from Priónia or Litohoro in the east of the mountain.
We stopped at the shelter to organize our equipment and take a few photos before we put our backpacks and went up the mountain. We joined a stony path that gradually moves up the mountain slope and follows the Transe European long-distance hiking trail E4, which crosses the entire Olympus massif as part of its 10,000 km (6,200 miles) long route from Spain to Cyprus
An der embankment turns the path to the Musen plateau at 2,650 m (8,694 feet), where the really spectacular prospects begin to develop. The huge rocky summit massif of the Olympus with its striking series of prickly battlements protrudes over the surrounding sea of clouds.
We stopped on 2,911 m (9,551 feet) high secondary summit from Skolió with his phenomenal view for a short break before we continued along the cliffs to the next secondary summit from Skala to 2,866 m (9,403 feet).
The official Highlander route does not lead to the true highlight of the mountain, the 2,918 m (9,570 ft) high summit of Mytikas, since it requires a challenging climbing that is classified in the USA as a climbing in class 3 or in Great Britain as climbing category 3. For everyone who is sure of his skills and feels comfortable when climbing over exposed rock walls, a junction to the summit is possible.
We absolutely wanted to conquer the highest summit, so we left our heavy backpacks in scale and started the exciting ascent to Mytikas. The Kaki scale, or devil staircase, first leads steeply down into the abyss that separates the two peaks before the route winds back and forth, up a steep gorge, round rocky stakes and over a number of stomach -turning drops.
Atlas & Boots
crossing Skolió to the Mytikas summit
The mycas summit platform offers a panoramic view of a cloud carpet, which is only interrupted by the rugged peaks of the Olympus massif. On clear days you can look to the glittering Aegean.
The redirection takes an additional two hours from the scale summit and requires a considerable amount of energy after a long hiking day. Hikers should only do the Mytikas summit ascent if they have climbing experience and feel good in exposed terrain.
After the mandatory summit photos, we followed our route back to scale and then joined a gravel path that quickly falls off when he halves a scree slope. We got down into the clouds when the path arrived again on the way to the Spilios Agapito's Refuge on the tree line. We continued through a peaceful section of the forest, which is known as the "forest of silence", and further to Priónia, the location of control point four.
-
-
-
- Alt = "">
-
-
Atlas & Boots
More scenes from the hike
We didn't play in Priónia, so we met our jeeps to continue driving along the way to the Agios Dionysios monastery. There we stored on a small clearing in the forest next to the path, ready to complete part of the last section to Litohoro in the morning.
Although we had good weather for the summit, we were always aware that a rainstorm should hit the region and that it arrived in the morning. The four-hour hike from our campsite at the monastery was quite miserable, although we drove through the beautiful Enipéas gorge with its dizzying, forest-covered cliffs and viewpoints on the cliffs.
When we arrived in Litohoro, we were soaked and so we dipped into the next café to order cups with steaming coffee and put on dry clothes.
Overall, our team completed 40 km of the 102 km long path and saw three of the four checkpoints as well as the start and finish line, so it got a good impression of what the Highlander Olympus Trek will offer when it starts when it starts next year.
with dense atmospheric forests, deeply split gorges and an iconic summit ridge, the journey over the cloud -covered cave of the ancient Greek pantheon was everything that suggests myths: magical.
how to register
The final date for the Highlander Olympus Trek 2022 2022 still has to be confirmed, but is expected to take place in June.
Early bird entrances begin at € 149 ($ 180) per person. If you join a group, there are four-for-three offers.
The Highlander website contains information on registration as well as further details on control points, route, equipment and some basic guidelines for hiking in the region. Further information, including information instructions, can be found after registration.
Let me know if you register for the hike because I plan to return next year to complete the entire route. I hope to see you out there!
Mission statement: Atlas & Boots
.