No matter how many times I have visited Mount Parnitha before or how much time I’ve already spent exploring this small Athenian mountain, it always manages to surprise me! This hike was no exception.
We’ve hiked through northern Parnitha many times before, visiting the picturesque church of Agia Marina, the ancient tower of Limiko, or the pastures around Saloniki.
This time we decided to connect some of these places into a circular hike starting from the pastures above Avlona, passing the ravine of Mavrorema and the tower of Limiko before descending back via the church of Agios Nikolaos.
This way, we got to experience a large part of the beautiful forests of Northern Parnitha, still completely untouched by the devastating wildfires of recent years.
How to get there
We left Athens following the Lamia highway until the exit at Sfendali. We left the highway here and drove through Avlona towards the mountains.
The drive through the narrow alleys of the village following Google navigation was quite confusing and we thought we were lost multiple times. However, trust the process, it’ll all work out in the end.
Once out of Avlona, we followed an asphalt road in the direction of the Neou Studiou Monastery. We left the asphalt road at a large crossroad right before the monastery and joined a wide dirt road diving into the forest.
After about one and a half kilometers we arrived at another crossroad with signs pointing to the right towards Agia Marina.
We took the left branch of the road and after another one and a half kilometers we arrived at the edge of a field with narrow dirt tracks branching off to the left and right.
We parked our car there and continued on foot. You can find the driving directions to the trailhead on Google Maps (HERE).
Maps, signposting & difficulty
To plan our hike we used the Anavasi map of Mount Parnitha in combination with multiple Wikiloc recordings we found online.
We’ve done many sections of this hike before but this time we decided to combine them into one circular trail starting from the pastures above Avlona and climbing to the ancient tower of Limiko.
The trail was almost 18 kilometers long and we gained around 500 meters of elevation during our climb to Limiko.
We followed a mix of forest roads and clear, well-marked paths and didn’t have difficulty navigating the trail at any point. Thanks to that, I consider this hike only moderately difficult despite its length.
You can find the Wikiloc recording of our hike HERE.
Mavrorema & Limiko
We started our hike at a crossroad of multiple dirt tracks at the edge of a large pasture in a location called Vountima. From here, we followed an unmarked trail through the forest for about 300 meters until we came on a wide unsurfaced road.
We turned right here and continued along the road for the next 4 kilometers. This section of the hike was quite uneventful but we enjoyed the views across the unspoiled forest covering the hilly countryside all around and after about an hour of comfortable walking we reached the Mavrorema.
We crossed a bridge at the entrance to the ravine of Mavrorema and continued along the road searching for a trail branching off to the left. We found it some 400 meters later. It was quite hard to spot it from the road so keep your eyes peeled.
Once on the trail, it was very easy to follow, it seems like it was cleared and marked quite recently. For the next 2 kilometers, we followed the trail running through a beautiful forest on the right side of the ravine, spotting all kinds of mushrooms and winter wildflowers along the way.
At the end of the Mavrorema ravine, we encountered a crossroad of trails and followed the signs to Limiko. We crossed a picturesque creek and after a while,e we reached the pastures of Limiko.
We passed an old well and the church of Agios Georgios and climbed all the way to the top of the hill called Pireza to visit the ancient tower of Limiko.
We’ve been to the tower of Limiko many times before and through the years it become one of my favorite spots at Mount Parnita. The tower is not very tall nor is it particularly impressive, but its location in the middle of the unspoiled nature far away from any asphalt road is remarkable!
Pigadakia & Agios Nikolaos Chapel
After leaving the tower of Limiko we retraced our steps until we reached a sign for Saloniki. We followed the sign and red markings through the forest until we came out at a meadow called Pigadakia thanks to its two picturesque, old wells.
We left the trail to Saloniki here and turned left towards the church called Agios Nikolaos. For the next 3 kilometers, we descended through a beautiful thick forest following red signs until we came out at a grassy clearing dotted by fruit trees near the church.
We took a short break here enjoying the peace and quiet of the place as well as the beautiful views towards the summits of Mount Parnita before continuing towards Avlona.
The next section of the trail passed through a shady ravine among moss-covered boulders, fallen trees, and vegetation so thick that it felt like a cave in a few places.
But not before long we came out of the ravine and back to the forest and after another couple hundred meters we reached a dirt road near a suspiciously looking farm.
We turned left here and followed the road back to our car enjoying the views across the lovely countryside bathing in the golden evening light.
