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Mount Pentelicus is best known for its marble quarries, supplying the stone used to build many of the famous Athenian monuments since antiquity. But did you know it is an awesome place for hiking as well?
The forested northern slopes of the mountain above Dionysos are the perfect destination for a quick, afternoon trip from Athens filled with unspoiled nature, a bit of history, and easy hiking.
On this relatively short yet fun hike, we got to explore the three charming churches of Dionýsos, Profitis Ilias, Agios Nikitas, and Agios Loukas, the Open-Air Marble Museum as well as the surprisingly lush, unspoiled forest of Northern Penteli.
Getting to the beginning of the trail from the center of Athens
One of the biggest advantages of this lovely hike in Dionýsos is its accessibility. The drive from the center of Athens only took us around 30 minutes and was easy to navigate (see the directions on Google Maps HERE)
More importantly, you can reach Dionysos by public transport as well. The easiest way to get to the beginning of the trail from the center is to take the green metro line to its last stop in Kyfisia.
From here, take the bus number 536 to Dionýsos, get off at the bus stop called Amadryadon, and walk uphill following a street of the same name. The trail starts right at the end.
Map, signposting & difficulty
With only 7 kilometers in length and 300 meters of elevation, this hike was relatively easy. It was far from boring though. Every few hundred meters we stumbled upon yet another little church hidden in the forest, the ruin of an old stone house, an abandoned marble quarry, shady picnic spots, or an amazing viewpoint.
It only took us around three and a half hours to complete the hike. We made uncountable photo stops along the way and generally kept a slow, leisurely pace. The trail is well suited to beginner hikers or families with kids and can be made even shorter if you omit the Solinariou spring.
The path was market quite sparsely with a mixture of old signs pointing towards the churches and other points of interest and red paint on the rocks. We followed Wikiloc recording instead of the markings to make sure we stayed on the right track (you can find ours HERE).
The area of Dionysos is also covered in the Anavasi Map of Mount Penteli. We didn’t bring the map on our hike and regretted it a couple of times when we came across an unmarked trail and considered it for a shortcut or a detour.
From Dionysos to Profitis Ilias, Agios Nikitas and Agios Loukas
We started our hike at the end of a street called Amariadon in Dionysos. The beginning of the trail was marked with only a broken sign pointing towards Profitis Ilias and could be easily overlooked. However, once on the trail it was very easy to follow.
The first section of the trail passed through a beautiful jungle-like forest and was quite uphill. It was wet and muddy during our visit in February, too, but still not too difficult to tackle.
After about half kilometer of steady climbing, we reached the first church called Profitis Ilias. The small white chapel hidden in the forest was very pretty on its own but we found a beautiful view point little bit higher up as well.
From here, the trail continued its climb through the forested slopes of northern Penteli, passing the tiny stone-built Agios Nikitas church until it finally arrived at the last of the three churches, Agios Loukas.
With spring, sunshine and plenty of space to sit around the church, this is the perfect spot for a break or even a picnic.
The Open-Air Museum of Quarry Arts in Aloula
The church of Agios Loukas lies at a crossroad of paths. Two of them continue uphill towards the Monastery of Agios Panteleimonos and the summit of Mount Penteli, the third path runs from the back of the church horizontally towards the Open-Air Marble Museum in Aloula.
We followed the third trail and soon came across the first ruins of small stone buildings. At this point, the views of the marble quarries opened up as well leaving us in awe of this dramatic scenery.
The creation of the Open-Air Museum of Quarry Arts began in 1994 in place of former quarries abandoned in the 70′. It is not a museum in the true sense of the word, you won’t find any information signs or explanation of the quarry’s history. It is an interesting place to explore nevertheless (read more about it HERE).
A couple of stairways lead to the top of the quarry among tall marble walls and fascinating stone formations. It is a steep climb but the views from the top across the beautiful green landscape of Dionysos reimbursed us for our efforts.
After we returned from the top of the quarry, we followed a wide dirt road descending slightly towards the entrance to the Open Air Museum. From here, you can either return back to Dionysos or continue towards the Solinari Spring like we did.
Solinari Spring
The path to the Solinari Spring starts near a large marble plaque marking the entrance to the Open Air Museum. There is a sign pained on one of the walls with red paint pointing towards the spring.
At first, the trail climbs uphill among low stone walls but after about 200 meters the terrain flattened. For the next kilometer or so, the path runs horizontally across the wooded slopes with beautiful views opening up towards Rapentosa and the summit of Mount Pentelicus.
The area of Solinariou Spring was the most quite of the whole hike and we enjoyed a lovely break here listening to nothing but the sounds of nature and the trickle of water.
From the spring, a dirt road descends to Dionýsos through a beautiful pine forest. At the first houses of Dionysos, we turned left and flowed the street called Prousis and later Magnisias back to our car.
The last two kilometers of the hike were the least eventful but we still enjoyed walking along the edge of the forest admiring the fancy houses of Dionysos and beautiful evening views.
For more amazing hikes near Athens check out THIS post!