Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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40.09000°N / 22.36000°E |
Route Type:
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Hiking |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
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Time Required:
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Half a day |
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Overview
The route described connects the recreation area of Prionia,with the town of Litochoro.The route is one of the most scenic in Olymbus,because it crosses Enipeas gorge,and follows the river that flows at the bottom of the gorge.The route can be done both ways and it will be described as a descent.The route has 11km length and requires 4-5 hours to be completed,depending on how fast you are.Starting point is Prionia(1050m)and Ending point Litochoro(300m).All the route,apart from its end(the streets of Litochoro) is made in a wide path,in thick forest.The path crosses Enipeas stream 7 times,with wooden bridges.
Getting There
One can drive to Prionia from the asphalt road that starts from Litochoro,the last 1km is a good gravel road.It is a 18km drive,twisting and turning,and require half an hour.Prionia can be reached with a taxi from Litochoro.Route Description
Although the route will be described as a descent,it has an elevation gain of 400m,due to the several ups and downs of the path as it crosses Enipeas gorge.
We start from the parking lot of Prionia with the wooden fence between the parking lot and the stream.We pass through the fence door and cross the stream with a wooden bridge for first time.Now we descent,being on the right side of the river.After 10-15minutes we cross the river again and we continue on the left side of the river this time.After a while we meet a gravel road,which we follow on the right and after 15minutes we reach a clearing.We continue the path and in 100m distance,there is an intersection(on the right on a distance of 100m,we can visit a gorgeous waterfall).After 10minutes walk,you reach St.Dionusiou monastery and after 100m we cross Enipeas with a long,wooden bridge.
Now we proceed in the right side of the river,admiring a small waterfall.
From this point the path starts ascenting a little and later a brief but steep descent follows,bringing us to the chapel of the monastery.The chapel is beside a spectacular cave,in which drinkable water flows.From the chapel the path descents a steep slopes inside a thick forest.The descent continues until we reach the river.There we cross Enipeas for the 4th time and we proceed having the river on the right hand.After 5-10 minutes walk,we cross the river again and the path ascents a little bit.A steep descent follows(25-30o) and we reach the river again.We cross the river for the 6th time and we start ascenting the slopes in the right part of the river.After 5 minutes we cross Enipeas for the last time and several ups and downs begin.The gorge becomes narrow and we proceed on the right part of the gorge,much higher from the river.From here and so on we can only hear the sound of Enipeas river but only in some points we can see the river much lower from us.On the other side of the gorge we can admire a huge rockface called Zilnia.It has lots of climbing routes and it is one of the best climbing areas in North Greece.The vegetation changes,as we proceed and the fir forest,gives place to other kinds of trees.in this point we must be careful in an intersection,we follow the left path that descents,not the right.After several tiring ups and downs,we reach a place with panoramic of Litochoro(for the first time)as well as the peaks of Olumpus
A long descent begins for 40-45minutes,until we meet a path that procceds just above to the irrigation ditch of Litochoro(the town is irrigated from Enipeas river).We follow the path to the right and 10minutes later we are in an area called Muloi.In this place we find 1-2 taverns and we can follow the streets to the centre of Litochoro(1200m from here).