The plan for the second day of our tour of Greece is to visit the mythical Mount Olympus. Just a brief reminder that this mountain, also known as Olympos, is the highest mountain in Greece and one of the highest mountains in all of Europe. Olympus is closely linked to Greek mythology, as it is believed to be the seat of the gods, including Zeus, the supreme god. In ancient times, Olympus was considered a holy place where people made pilgrimages and religious ceremonies were held.
View of the Aegean Sea from Olympus
The highest peak of Olympus and of all Greece is called Mytikas (2918 m.a.s.l.). It holds a special place in Greek mythology, as it was believed to be the seat of the supreme god Zeus. According to legend, Zeus is besieged here by eagles who bring him sacrifices from the ground. And this is our top goal for today, because who wouldn't want to see Zeus in his living room, right?
Mapy.cz shows that it takes over six hours to get to the top, so we had to get up early and get going to make it up and down by daylight. The starting point is the Prionia hut (1100 m above sea level). The hut must first be reached by car. There is no public transport there and the only alternative is a taxi, or walking out of Litochoro town, but that's quite a walk. We will arrive by car at the Prionia hut, before ten o'clock and leave the car in the free parking lot.
Litochoro
Prionia hut (1100 m.a.s.l.)
At the start we have a fairly leisurely three-hour climb up a forest stone path to the Spilios Agapitos hut (about 2000m above sea level), where we rest a bit, have lunch and refill water in the toilet. The weather is on order and from the hut you can see the Aegean Sea.
Starting point from the Prionia hut
Route marking
The road to the Spilios Agapitos hut
Route marking
Spilios Agapitos hut (approx. 2000 m.a.s.l.)
From the Spilios Agapitos hut the hard part starts. Firstly, the high altitude starts to show, compounded by the rapid elevation gain, because in the morning we were at sea level, now we are at two thousand and still climbing. Moreover, the ascent from the hut is getting steeper and steeper. On top of that, it has cooled down considerably and it has started to get windy. However, we finally get some decent views of the sea and the surrounding peaks. The most challenging part is the end, when you see the supposed summit, but you approach it very slowly and each step gets harder and harder.
After six hours, with the vision of the destination comes a great disappointment, because what I think is Mytikas is actually just the peak of Skala (2866 m), which covers it all the time. Moreover, it is shrouded in clouds, so we only get a chance to see its majesty for a few moments when the clouds part for a while. What's even worse is that the path continues through a very dangerous rocky terrain, so continuing is both dangerous and would take at least another hour of time, which we don't have because it's already four o'clock. The name Mytikas is derived from the Greek word "mythos", which means myth or fable. And this failure, unfortunately, will not make it into any myth.
Skala (2866 m.a.s.l.) - A nearby peak that is still so far away
Trail continuing to Mytikas
Mytikas (2918 m.n.m.)
Some people really gave it their all
Highlight photo - Skala (2866 m.a.s.l.)
We'll take some pictures as quickly as we can trying to get back. At the Spilios Agapitos hut we have another snack and in the slight twilight we continue to the parking lot, walking the last kilometer in complete darkness.
A Descent
We reach the car after seven o'clock. All in all, it took us about 6 hours to get up the mountain, and we made it down in 3 hours, with the fact that we didn't reach Mytikas. Since our group had different performance, we didn't have some race pace. Leaving from Prionia hut, we came across a suicidal fox on the way, standing in the middle of the road and in no hurry to move out of the way. On top of that, she almost gets hit by an oncoming car. In Litochora we stop at a pizzeria for dinner and then head back to the apartment for a well-deserved rest after such a busy day. Tomorrow we will cross Larissa to Metsovo.
The Reward
Useful links:
Corner house Leptokarie
Mapy.cz
More hotels in Leptokaria
Hotels in Litochoro
