Third Wave Travel - Explore Greece - Discover Greek Nature- Mountainous Greece

Visit Mount Pelion to discover a place of unique natural beauty that gives you the impression of a painting made by an invisible talented artist to delight our senses.

Mount Pelion, the home of the Centaurs, the wedding place of Peleus and Thetis, the fatherland of Achilles has a long history, in which legend blends with reality creating an exciting mystery. The wild beauty of Pelion inspired ancient writers and poets and gave birth to fascinating myths.

Mount Pelion lies in Magnesia, which occupies the eastern part of Thessaly. The mountain is 1551m high (5089 ft) and forms a peninsula to the east of which is the Aegean Sea and to the south the Pagasitic Gulf. So it is one of the most beautiful areas of Greece as the villages on the wooded slopes and the inviting bays with white sand and clear blue waters are combined in a perfect way.

Between the 13th and the 15th centuries numerous monasteries were built on Mount Pelion and during the Ottoman period when Turks settled on the lowlands and the fertile areas of Pelion, the Greeks took refuge in the impassable mountainous slopes where they joined the farmers cultivating the land of the monasteries. So the first villages were created. An amazing cultural and economic growth followed as the Turks handed the 24 villages of Pelion autonomy. You will see pages of Greece’s more recent history come alive as you stroll through the steep and narrow cobbled streets of the villages among the splendid old houses of noblemen that withstand the passage of time.

The traditional mansions, the houses with the slate roofs set in courtyards and gardens, the monasteries and chapels decorated with frescoes, the old cobbled streets that made up the net of communication between the villages, the stone-built fountains, the woods of chestnut, oak and beech, the fruit orchards and the olive groves, the mountain air sweet with the scent of herbs and the beautiful views of the sea make up an environment of rare beauty.

The best way to know Pelion is to stay in one of the mansions that have been converted into guesthouses and walk along the cobbled paths, sit under the old plane trees in the squares of the villages and enjoy the atmosphere. One of the nicest things you can do is to take the little train. At the end of the 19th century the Italian engineer Evaristo de Chirico, father of the great artist Giorgio de Chirico designed and constructed one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world. Today, after 25 years of silence, the little train of Pelion climbs mountain again. You can take it from Ano Lehonia to enjoy a dreamlike route through olive groves and traditional settlements, to photograph the magnificent bridges of De Chirico, to have a fantastic view of the sea from the peak of the mountain until the end of your journey at Milies.

There is also a wide range of activities related to the sea or the mountain and an intense cultural life that make Pelion an ideal place for entertainment, exploration and enjoyment all year round.