Pelion's beautiful green slopes provide the opportunity of additional kinds of tourism and activities development such as hiking since in Pelion there are plenty of forest and rural roads as well as a lot of paths encouraging this kind of activity, for those who want to acquaint, explore and enjoy in this way places of extraordinary beauty, with magnificent view and lush lands of cool running water.

Hiking is recommended mainly during Spring and Autumn, or in South Pelion in Winter as well.

Most paths are signposted, and therefore the presence of a specialist climber or walker is not required, since they are passable and easily accessed by all visitors.

There are however paths characterized by a greater degree of difficulty, and therefore they are addressed to more experienced walkers.

Those interested in this kind of activity are advised to consult the weather broadcast prior to hiking, to inform a friend or the hotelier, and to have the proper equipment, such as:

- Comfortable and non slippery shoes

- A small backpack

- Pharmacy

- Water

- Food or energy bars

-  Hat

- Wind breaker.

Pelion provides the unique opportunity to have a view over the deep blue sea, i.e. the Aegean and the Pagasitikos Gulf, while skiing in an organized ski resort!!! Especially when the weather permits it, one can see as far as to Mount Athos.

During the winter, many organized winter sports fans, among others, visit the ski resort of Pelion in order to enjoy their favourite pastime, with the skiing as well as the snowboarding and the speed skiing being the most preferred.

Additionally, one has the opportunity to rent or to bring their own snowmobile, enjoying nice trips in places non-accessible with snow skis.  Pelion’s ski resort is accessible from Hania and the mountain top where the centre is placed is Agriolefkes (altitude 1471 m.).

For many people the interest of the sea lies in water sports. In Pelion there are beautiful sea coasts for every taste. The Aegean Sea with its winds favours sailing and windsurfing and the Pagasitikos Gulf water-ski, canoeing, etc. Additionally, there are those seeking a little bit of more adrenaline, and choose paragliding.

250km of pleasant mountain bike ride! The unique routes through the majestic forests of Pelion, extraordinary paths and quiet roads, will reward you!

For those of you who seek the difficult ascent, on the mountain peak will admire the spectacular view of the Aegean Sea or Pagasitikos Gulf.

For those of you, who prefer flatten routes, will enjoy biking under the shade of the highly vegetated forest having pleasant stops next to natural springs to refill your bottles with fresh water.

Having as a starting point Volos or any other place you choose, with a good map, you can take in / go through many routes, depending on the days and kilometers you want travel.

If you choose the side of the Pagasitikos Gulf, you will manage to travel more kilometers, since the routes are flat.

First you will cycle next to the train tracks of Mountzouris (the old train of Pelion) and after a few kilometers you ‘ll get to Agria.

From there you will ride through the coastal road towards Platanidia, Malaki, Kala Nera, Koropi, Affiso, Lefokastro, Kalamo, Chorto, Milina. After you will continue towards Marathia, Jasteni, Kottes. Before you get to Trikeri village you can take a turn following the signage to Alogoporo, in order to get to the beautiful traditional island of Old Trikeri.

You can go across with a sea taxi or the touristic boat. Arriving on the island, at the main square, you'll find a rudimentary map of the trails since no cars are allowed.

If you choose the side of the Aegean sea, we can assure you that you will experience more elevations trough the routes, but you’ll get rewarded by the beautiful green forest of eastern Pelion.

Having as a mountain peak the ski resort of pelion, going down the hill you ‘ll get to Zagora and Kissos. From there you can take the road to Mouresi or Tsagkarada.

Don’t miss the routes that take you to the amazing beaches of Plakas, Agio Ioanni, Papa Nero, Damouhari, Fakistra and Milopotamo. If you wish for a quite ride with fewer cars and more routes you can go off road admiring more nature.

Have Fun!!!!

In Pelion there are not only works created by the lay Pelion soul, but also the nature of the area, such as the plane trees standing imposingly at the majority of the picturesque squares of the villages for so many years, for thousands of years it could be said, revealing the harmonic relationship between people and nature in the region of Pelion.

The forests of wild chestnut trees and beech trees are another particular feature of Pelion, despite the unfortunate fact that the wild fauna is not so rich due to the dense building.

Nevertheless, one can still meet a wide variety of mammals in Pelion (e.g., wild boars, foxes, jackals, etc.), while quite rich is also the avifauna of the mountain (e.g., eagles, hawks, blackbirds, partridges, etc.)

The rich environment of Pelion is an important financial and developmental resource of the wider area, providing many opportunities for the growth of nature tourism and the organization of ecotourism activities.

Unfortunately, the dominant kind of tourism in our country remains still the so-called "mass tourism", which contributes undoubtedly to the economic growth of an area, it has however serious consequences in the nature and the environment.

Nevertheless, the environmental deterioration remains at the lowest level in Pelion, since the majority of the residents, the shop-keepers of the area and the local government has contributed significantly towards this direction.

In areas of outstanding natural beauty, as it is Pelion, where the nature’s generosity is obvious, and in combination with the existing diversity of the ecosystem and the tourist infrastructure, the development of the so-called environmental – nature-loving tourism is favored significantly.

These kind of activities include among other things the birds and animals observation, the wild fruits and herbs picking, as well as the mushrooms picking, which constitutes a true "treasure of nature".

In Pelion there are plenty of beautiful country churches, old monasteries, the view of which transfers the visitor centuries ago, when monastery life blossomed in Pelion. Thessaly met the Turkish occupation in 1423, and since then began the development and evolution of important villages of Pelion.

In maps of the Medieval era, there is reference to some of these monasteries, which functioned also as the first residential nuclei for the most important villages of Pelion. Pelion itself did not meet the Turkish occupation, as the most part of Greece, instead special privileges were provided in the area due to its natural beauty.

Due to the relative protection and independence reserved in monasteries, many Greeks from Thessaly, Evia and the Aegean, affected by the evils of occupation, found a refuge there.

Gradually, the traditional towers of Pelion begun to be built around the monasteries, leading to the development of the 24 well-known villages of Pelion. Nowadays, many of these country churches constitute historical and cultural monuments, with  old wooden temples, magnificent shrines, vaulted murals, religious paintings of folk artists and remarkable post-Byzantine engravings.

Highly valuable ecclesiastical utensils, silver from Epirus as well as from local artisans, painted glass devotional lamps from Venice, chalices form Odessa, silver Gospels, gold-embroidered epitaphs...

All these remind and indicate the devoutness of the residents of Pelion as well as the significant role that Christianity and the monasteries played in the development of Pelion villages, which is an additional reason for worth visiting some or even all monasteries and churches of the area.

In Greece, the religious tourism has been growing rapidly in recent years, indicating the very interesting character of this kind of alternative tourism, which even in periods of financial crisis, as the present one, does not appear to be influenced negatively. Religious tourism is associated with visits in monuments, museums or places of religious significance.

The motives for the development of this kind of tourism in Pelion are many, since the cultural and religious wealth of the area is immense and valuable, while the flourishing of culture and art during the Turkish occupation resulted in many and important artworks.

What stimulates the visitors’ interest mainly is the buildings which function still as religious places, buildings of historical, religious or architectural interest, placed mainly in idyllic landscapes, buildings of religious character, such as monasteries, hermitages, religious schools and libraries, etc., where conferences with religious and cultural content are held, and buildings operating as museums or showrooms where religious items are exhibited. This kind of choices are countless in Pelion.

The benefit gained by Pelion and its villages from this kind of tourism is multifaceted, since apart from the ‘hidden treasures’ of the area’s culture, which are revealed and become known to the wider public, they increase also the tourism in periods of time and months that it is normally recessed, constituting an important source of income for the shopkeepers of the area.