Pelion: mountain villages between two seas

Route description

Volos, a port city at the head of the Pagasetic Gulf, is the gateway to the Pelion peninsula. Take the road up the mountain to Makrinitsa, about 17 km, a village of stone mansions with slate roofs, known as the balcony of Pelion for its view over Volos and the gulf. Park at the entrance: the village is pedestrian, with cobbled paths and a plane-shaded square.

Continue over the pass at Hania, where there is a small ski area in winter, and down the wooded eastern side of the mountain to Zagora and on along the slopes to Tsagarada, about 50 km. The village is scattered among chestnut and beech forest, with a huge old plane tree on the square of Agia Paraskevi. Old stone paths, the kalderimia, link the villages and are good for walking.

Below Tsagarada, a winding road descends to Mylopotamos, a pebble beach split by rocks into two coves joined by a passage through the rock, with clear Aegean water. Swim here, then drive south across the peninsula to Milies. The narrow-gauge Pelion railway runs from Ano Lechonia to Milies, crossing the stone De Chirico bridge; a heritage train runs on set days, mostly weekends.

Milies has a pretty church and a small folk museum; from here, descend to Afissos on the calmer Pagasetic coast, with its beaches and tavernas. The Pelion roads are narrow and steep, with tight bends in the villages; long motorhomes should stick to the main roads and park outside the villages. Summer is busy, while spring and autumn are green and quiet.