SHORT DESCRIPTION
North Olympus has nothing to envy from the main Olympus Mountain, except its height. Green beech and oak slopes, with beautiful villages scattered around. From the lowlands, where there is the town of Dion and its archaeological site (one of the most famous ancient Macedonian cities with strategic importance) to the mountains and the village of Vrodou Pierias, the starting point of our route. The village is near the stream of the Holy Trinity and was named after the mighty roar (Vrodi, is the Greek word) of the water, which was flowing rapidly from Mount Olympus. It is the north entrance of Mount Olympus and many mountaineers, starting from Vrodou, are climbing to the beautiful peaks of the mythical mountain. At 1005m altitude there is the mountain refuge of “krevatia”
USEFUL INFORMATION
Distance from Thessaloniki: 99 km
European Emergency Number: 112
Fire Brigade Dept: 199
Medical Emergency: 166
Krevatia refuge: 697 177 3070
Greek Mountaineering Association of Vrodou: 697 222 4665 / 6973 804 843
Monastery of Holy Trinity (Alt 430m) – Barbalas Ridge (Alt 1842m)
Route Information
Route Description: Trekking (Difficult)
Route Length: 6,2 km
Water in route: No (only at Krevatia refuge)
Marking: Yes, red and yellow marks
Duration: 5h 10min (Ascent)
4h 30min (Descent)
The route took place at SEP 2019
Team members 2 adults
We reach Vrodou and we follow the road to “Agia Kori”. About four kilometers from the village we find a junction on our right that leads us a few minutes later, to the big wooden door of the Holy Trinity monastery. A few meters before the church, there is a sign that shows the beginning of the route.
The trail is quite uphill with very good marking and it quickly gains altitude. It goes almost parallel to the stream of “Agia Kori”, through dense beech and black pine vegetation. The higher we go, the better the view to Barbalas ridge and the route we are going to take. On the path, there are two rest points, with spectacular view to the canyon and the peaks. We reach the plateau of “krevatia” refuge in about an hour and a half and there, we are taking our first break. Alternatively, for those who do not want to start the route from such low altitude, there is an earth road, around 8 km long, just outside the monastery, which can be used by conventional cars (summer or early autumn) and goes up to the refuge.
Having a difficult ascent ahead, a small rest and reorganization in the courtyard of the refuge, is what we need. Isaac, the guy who runs the refuge, when we told him where we are going to go, responded full of meaning “it’s going to be ruthless” and as we discovered later, he was absolutely right. The path starts just above the refuge and shows us its intentions, immediately. We are walking through the forest, following the red-yellow signs of the trail. The difficult ascent is getting more difficult in every step. The uphill is continuous and tough. The sun is already high, but the dense forest, gives us its shadow.
We are already climbing for about an hour, when we meet a shepherd with his flock. His name was “Barba Mitsos” (Greek nickname for Jim) and he was like a picture taken from our childhood memories. With white hair, thick mustache, riding on his mule, he was watching his goats in the mountainous meadows of Olympus. We stop for a moment, having a small talk. He tells us about the mountain and the difficulty of the route. A pure country man, full of kindness, he shares with us his only apple, because “you are going up and you are going to need it” as he said. We salute him and we continue the difficult path that sometimes pierces through the woods and sometimes climbs to the edge of the cliffs.
After another two hours and a painful and ruthless climb, we are coming out of the forest. There is no path anymore but there is no orientation problem either. In front of us, there is the last steep uphill that will bring us to the summit. At last, we have arrived and it was worth every step. The view is astonishing. In front of us are, the “Papa” stream and the high peaks of the mountain of gods, Profitis Elias, Touba, Stefani, Christakis. On the other side, we are gazing at Pieria Mountains, Vrodou, the beaches of Katerini, Thermaikos Gulf and Halkidiki.
We could stay there admiring these magnificent pictures forever, but we were running out of time and we had to go back. We have the same difficult downhill ahead and it is already late. We arrive at the refuge in the afternoon, looking forward for some rest. We took our small lunch listening to live music (what a pleasant surprise), since Isaac was singing and playing with his mandolin, old Greek “rebetika” songs. It was really relaxing but the time was passing fast. Last photos and another one and a half hour downhill again, up to the monastery, where we arrived shortly before the sun sets. It was a difficult route that can be described as alpine, despite the relatively low altitude of the peak. Isaac was absolutely right to what he told us. It was ruthless. Exhausted, but mentally and spiritually full, the beautiful autumn night, finds us driving back home, leaving behind the beauty of the north side of Mount Olympus.