Amazing places within an hour's drive of Athens

Do you want to breathe fresh air, admire the blooming spring landscapes, go on a pleasant walk, but your budget does not allow you to spend a weekend away from home, and driving two hours for a day trip seems excessive? These tours are for you.

Greece hides truly enormous treasures that are worth exploring carefully. Its mainland has a unique terrain and a fantastic number of landscapes that can satisfy the most sophisticated tastes of lovers of nature, culture and active recreation.

Alpine meadows, mountain peaks lost behind the clouds, endless ridges, gorges and ravines, intricate paths in beech and oak forests, plane tree groves, rivers with stone bridges – real works of art, water mills, waterfalls, national parks with rare species of animals and plants , wetlands… And among all this natural splendor there are traces of active human activity: traditional settlements, archaeological sites with special energy, hot springs, ancient monasteries, chapels, fortresses, towers and crumbling stone villages, mountain towns full of life, ski resorts with beautiful chalets.

At every step there are masterpieces created either by nature or by human hands. Greek roots will literally breathe life into your trip, both literally and figuratively. Authentic, impressive, wild, welcoming, smiling, unexpectedly adventurous, mainland Greece will undoubtedly provide an amazing backdrop for your exciting holiday. Day Trips:

Oinoi Gorge

Located in Marathon, it is eight and a half kilometers long and is one of the most beautiful routes in nature that you can walk (and not only in Attica). The dirt path crossing the gorge starts from the medieval tower of Oinoi. Even novice tourists can easily walk along it. The path ends at the Marathon Lake dam after about an hour and a half of hiking – and another hour on the way back, for a total of three hours.

Schinias Marathonas National Park

Behind our beloved Attic beach of Σχινιά lies a pine forest, which is rightly declared a national park and is intersected by three paths: the first starts from the Pine Forest and ends after about 6 kilometers at the observatory. The second is circular, it goes from the Rowing Route to the marshlands (Κωπηλατοδρόμιο στον Υγρότοπο) and back, passing by a small river to Makaria Pigi, known since ancient times, and next to fragments of the Proto-Helladic settlement that existed here. In total, the path is 11 kilometers, about three and a half hours of walking. And finally, the third, also a circular route, crosses the Kukunariya forest and the Kinosur natural botanical garden, which can be completed in 45 minutes (more than two kilometers).

Rapentosa Waterfall

A stream of crystal clear water falls from a height of 10 meters and is one of the rare cases of waterfalls that have water almost all year round. In addition, the route to this magnificent place is very picturesque. During your ride (and walk), you can enjoy panoramic views of the natural landscape. You start from FarmaMoo and reach the waterfall after 45 minutes of walking or 3.1 kilometers.

Trails of Mount Parnitha

There are both organized and independent hikes to Mount Parnitha. Walking through dense fir forests or stopping for spring picnics in the shadow of Tatoi's palaces, you will experience an indescribable unity with nature. Some of the most beautiful trails to follow on a map can be found here, and if you prefer an organized trek, Trekking Hellas starts every Sunday morning on a pleasant 4-hour route from the Bafi refuge/mountain hut. The cost of participation is 17 euros per person.

Vilia and the slopes of Mount Kitayros

Vilia is a mountain village of Attica, built on the slopes of Kythyron, located 56 kilometers northwest of Athens. It is located in an amphitheater at the eastern mouth of a large opening formed by the Kitairon mountain ranges, and at the foot of Lestory Peak. Viliya's altitude begins at 500 meters and ends at approximately 600 meters above sea level.

In the small town you can see relics from the Byzantine and Christian periods. In addition to the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, built in 1893, attractions include: the Church of the Great Generals from 1637, the Church of St. George, Our Lady of Gura in Lestori, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin from the 14th century AD. e. etc. In the settlement of Porto Hermenos, the walls of ancient Egosthenes, an important port and fortress on the side of the Gulf of Corinth, where the seer and healer Melambos was worshiped, have been preserved.

As for the walking routes, the first one ends by the sea, in Porto Hermenos, after 15 kilometers or about six hours of walking at a measured pace. The second passes through a fantastic spruce forest and ends at the Kitairos mountain shelter.

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