Athos - Agion Oros
The
easterly prong of Chalkidiki shows woods, rocky shores, steep
slopes and the monasteries which together form the Holy Mountain.
There is nothing similar in the world. Monks have been living there since 800
AD. The Holy Mountain has a special legal status in Greece and the EU. Women
are not allowed to enter the area. They only can watch it from round trip boats.
Only ten foreign men or 100 Greek men can enter the mountain. You need a permit,
which is quite some paperwork. On weekends and in summer it is sometimes hard to
get a permit at your desired time. If you have your permit , you start from
Ouranopolis by ship to the harbour of Daphne. There is no land way to Athos.
From Daphne you go around by bus, on foot, or by boat. You can only spent one
night in each monastery but ... everything is possible.
Daphne has a post office, a taverna and some small
shops The only other town is Karyes, the administrative capital on Athos. Here
you find shops, a bakery and a bank with a moneymachine. here you also can hire
a minibus. Reach each monastery before sunset because the gates are closed after
that for everyone.
Some routes to go.
Route 1: Along the west coast- which is the most
spectacular. A small boat leaves Daphne daily for Agia Anne/ Kavsokalivia and
stops at Simonos Petras and the other monasteries at the east coast. You can
leave the boat everywhere and walk on. The costal path is very strenuous but the
scenery is fantastic. If you go until Agia Anna you
can climb the summit of Athos or round the wilderness on the costal path to
Megisti Lavra . From there you can return by a
monastic Unimog to Karyes.
Route 2: Take the bus to Karyes and walk on
to Vatopedia or to the monasteries on the east coast and continue to Megisti
Lavra. From there round the costal path to Agia Anna or ... Hints Many routes
are possible when using the old paths which cover the peninsula. Anyway, you
need a very good map if you like to do some trips on your own. If you want to
hike only for half of the tour, it would be good to travel by boat to the
furthest point and walk back.
The ships between Ierissos and Lavra or Daphne and Lavra / Ouranopolis might
not sail during bad weather conditions or strong winds. You should have enough
water with you. Don't leave the footpaths to go through the under wood. One of
the most accurate and up to date maps is by Reinhold Zwerger.
Visiting Athos
Any Greek or foreign Orthodox Christian who wants to visit Mount Athos
must first makecontakt with the Pilgrim Bureau in Thessalonica for the
Diamoneterion (visitors permit) which is good for four days. A maximum of 120
Orthodox Christian visitors (in theory) are allowed per day, but non Orthodox are limited to
10 per day.
Mount Athos is accessible by boat from Ouranoupolis or Ierissos. From
Ouranoupolis there are daily boat trips at10:00 to Daphne, the sea port of
Mount Athos and to the monasteries of Zographou, Docheiariou, Xenofontos and
Saint Panteleimon. Visitors to the monasteries of Simonos Petra, Gregoriou,
Dionysiou, St Paul and the Skete of St. Anne take boats at Daphne.
For the monasteries on the north east coast, boats sail from Ierissos . From
Daphne to Karies, the capital of Mount Athos is a bus.
From Karies use mini buses or Unimogs from the monasteries. There are small
hotels in Karyes and or Daphne. Video cameras are forbidden and be careful when
taking photos of monks.