Included:

• Information, History, Mythology
• Lunch pack: Snack, water, sandwich with feta, cucumber, tomato, olive or other traditional greek food (f.e. pita)
• Mountain guide
• Pick-up & Drop-off from Thessaloniki or the wider area of Pieria (upon request)
• Statutory Liability for the experience
• In case you choose to pay for Meal it includes: meal in Prionia or refuge (main dish, salad per 2 persons and appetizer per two persons)

Details:

• Driving hours from Thessaloniki: 3 hours (round trip)
• Duration: 8 - 10 hours
• Difficulty: 3/5
• Children friendly: Yes (15+)
• Operation period: End of May till end of October
• Hiking duration: 4-5 hours ascending, 3-4 hours descenting
• Distance: 11,5km (return)
• Starting point: 1100 metres
• Highest point: 1945 metres or 2450 metres for those that reach Skourta
• Gain altitude: 950 metres (plus 500meters for those that hike till Skourta)

Trip Outline
We will meet up at 8:00 and will head to the core of the Olympus National Park, at Gkortsia, where our hiking will start. Our hiking follows a wonderful forest trail with frequent alternations in the zone of beech trees, pines, fir and at the end the famous Robola (Bosnian pine trees). Our ascent is estimated to have a total duration of 3 hours. Our first stop will be after about 1 hour in a glade in the dense forest. As we continue our next stop will be in 1 hour on the ridge of the top of Koka, a short breath and the last uphill is in front of us, at the end of our ascend we will follow the trail to the place where one of greatest mondern Greek painters, Vassilis Ithakios, lived for 20 summer seasons. We will find ourselves in the cave where he spent more than 20 summers and had it as a starting point for his artistic pursuits, there you can still find 2 names of Muses that he had painted in a special way on the rocks. From here, Petrostrouga refuge is only half an hour away, a wonderful shelter surrounded by age-old Bosnian pine trees and with its breathtaking view of the Greek blue, Aegean sea and the light blue sky! Here we will choose whether to make a short stop for rest and light snacks or spend more time to eat. Our return will take place from the same trail to Gortsia.