Mountaineering

There are now 98 mountaineering clubs in Greece, numbering some 30,000 members. This term (Mountaineering) spans a range of activities related to mountain sports, all the way from the less arduous hiking or trekking, to the extremely demanding sport of rock climbing, which, at its most extreme, may involve the scaling of vertical cliffs thousands of feet high over a period of days.

This last sport is also known as 'alpining', a term deriving from 19th century rock climbing in the Alps, where it first became popular, spreading from there to the Himalayas and other mountains throughout the world, including Mt. Olympus, Greece's tallest peak.

Alpinists are driven by the testing of their physical strength and skill, just as are athletes of all kinds, but also by a love of high-altitude wild places and with that, curiosity about those places which are so far from the ordinary human realm.

Readers of a recent book written by an Englishman who joined Vlach shepherds in the northern Pindos mountains of Greece in their traditional journey with their herds to summer pastures (The Unwritten Places by Tim Salmon, Lycabettus Press), will understand why rural Greeks could not understand why anyone would be hiking around in the mountains (let alone scaling rock faces) just for the fun of it, considering that shepherding in the high mountains of Greece has been going on since antiquity.

In predominantly agricultural Greece in general, the exigencies of survival have dictated strenuous outdoor activitity rather than sport or exploration.

The beginnings of alpinism in Greece were during the 18th century with the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, and its fascination with both Classical Greece and Greek mythology. The discovery and excavation of ancient Troy by the German Heinrich Schliemann (previously believed to be merely a legendary city), awakened interest in the possibility that there might also be ancient ruins or monuments on Mt. Olympus connected with its mythical identity as home of the Greek gods.

Up until 1913, Mt Olympus was still under Ottoman rule, and the refuge of Greek freedom fighters, the entire area hence off bounds to foreigners, but after 1913 and the driving out of the Ottoman Turks from northern Thessaly during the Balkan Wars, the region was added to the Greek nation (along with Epirus and parts of Macedonia), and alpinists Frederic Boissonnas and Daniel Baud Bovy scaled the highest peak, their guide a Greek goatherd and freedom fighter, Christos Kakalos.

In 1926, the first Greek mountaineering group was formed, followed by other groups in 1928 and 1930, though mountaineering didn't really become a major sport until the 1980s, stimulated by the greater accessibility of mountain areas due to road building in Greece, and also by journeys by Greek mountaineers to the Alps and other European mountain ranges; the first Greeks embarked on an expedition to the Himalayas in 1985.

Popular mountains include

Mt. Parnitha (just north of Athens)
Vardousia and Giona (to the northwest of Athens)
Mt Gamila in the northern Pindos range (northest Greece near the Albanian border)
Taygetos (the Mani range in the southern Peloponnese)
Mt. Dhirfys (on the east central part of the long island of Evia (also spelled Euboea)
the Lefka Ori ( or White Mountains in western Crete)
Mt. Pangeo and Falakro (near the city of Dhrama, in easternmost Greek Macedonia)

There are many other mountains with good walking trails, especially in the circle of mountains only about two hours northwest of Athens, which include Giona, Iti, Parnassos, and Kalidhromo, some of which have fine woodlands, and rich flora and fauna.

Mountaineering Highlites

Mt. Tayetos Peloponnese

The tallest peak in this range, Profitis Ilias (Prophet Elijah), is 2407 meters (just under 8000 feet), and is also the highest peak in the Peloponnese. Its west side is quite barren, though the east side has forest with fir and black pine, with many bird and mammal species, streams with deep ravines, some of which have rich vegetation, birdlife and amphibians, and fertile plateaus.

The headwaters of the Eurotas River is on the east side of the mountain,and flows into the gulf of Lakonia, past Sparti (Sparta). The Nedontas river, whose headwaters are on the west side of the mountain empties into the Gulf of Messenia.

A small church is built on Profitis Ilias (as on most mountains in Greece named for the Prophet Elijah, which are usually the highest peaks in the region or island).

There are several other peaks between 7000 and 8000 feet in altitude. Both trekking and climbing possibilities abound in this range, with old pack animal trails that begin at villages at low elevation and which lead to others higher up (as well as to peaks).

The European trail E4 is among the possible routes for trekkers, and can be used in combination with other routes. Ascents up the east side (the preferred approach to the mountain and down the west through the larger ravines is among them. The main path on the east side begins off of the main road from Sparti about 7 km beyond the village of Lefki towards the villages of Anogeia, Paliopanaghia, and then Doriza, near the Magganiari spring. There's a mountain refuge at Varvara, at 1550 meters (5,100 feet), with beds, blankets, kitchen and heat, accommodating up to 26 persons, for which arrangement must be made in advance with the Sparta branch of the Hellenic Mountaineering Association (EOS).

The hike along the path to this refuge is very pleasurable in summer, passing through forest; from the Magganiari spring (dry in summer) to the refuge takes about one and a half hours; the path is well marked, as is the one from the refuge to the peak, taking another two and a half hours (approximately). If you hike to the peak on the 20th of July and from there to the flat mountain top where the church is, you'll be joined by many Greek villagers also ascending the mountain on that day for the 'yiorti' (saint's day) of Profitis Ilias, who stay the night in stone huts near the church. Of the many trails that lead to the peak from villages on both sides of the mountain, three begin at Anavriti village (near Aghios Yiannis village just 12 miles from Sparti), with the option of exploring the gorge of the same name, or to Mystras (the famed Byzantine citadel), or to the refuge at Varvara.

Mystras Peloponnese

This Byzantine city - Medieval fortress town, once the cultural center of the surrounding region, is located about 3km from Sparti, in the foothills of Mt. Tagetos, built on and around a hilltop, where ruins of fortifications can be seen, along with beautiful churches and palaces.

Kalderimia (stony paths) wander amid the ruinds of this fascinating place, with its abandoned medieval villages and monasteries, woodlands of fir and black pine, and ravines with lush vegetation.

It shares with Delphi (another of the most visited monuments in Greece) the virtue of being located in a fantastic natural setting that would be enough to attract visitors even were there no monument there. An hour or so is needed to climb to the hilltop citadel; a Byzantine museum is found near the North Gate on the western wing.

Vyros Gorge Peloponnese

Though far less known than the Vikos gorge in Ipiros, this gorge, about 20km (12.4 miles) long, is equally impressive and wild, beginning at the peak of Mavrovouna and flowing into the sea near Kardamili, perhaps the most outstanding village on the west coast of the middle peninsula of the Peloponnese, located 37 km (23 miles) southwest of Kalamata.

Unfortunately, the trails have become overgrown, formerly used by villagers with pack animals throughout the year, but now replaced by trucks and cars.