Monastery of Petra

After Fotina, a junction on the national highway leads to the Monastery of Petra and to the village named after it. From the old monastery, the only surviving part is that of the church, which was built in 1754 with materials taken from an older Byzantine building. There were contemporary additions to the monastery, a building that has served as a sanatorium before the war and a mental care home up until the end of the 20th century.
The beautiful village of Petra is a starting point for those ascending the northern peaks of Olympus and has guest-houses and taverns. After Petra, the road leads to the mountain village of Kokinopilos, located on the side of Olympos that is overlooking Thessaly.

Church of Agia Kori | Vrontou

In a rocky cavern, near the monastery of Agia Triada in Vrontou, there is the chapel of Agia Kori, where there is also a spring-holy water, surrounded by an impressive scenery of shady trees.

Church of the Dormition at Kontariotissa

The byzantine church of Theotokos Kontariotissa or Kountouriotissa, overlooking the village named after it, was built in the beginning of the 11th century and is one of the most significant byzantine monuments in Macedonia. Its architecture resembles that of the Agia Sofia church in the city of Thessaloniki; it has a cross-shaped dome surrounded by a gallery and two chapels on the north and on the south side respectively. Inside, there are remainings of murals dating back to the late 15th or early 16th century.
Only a few kilometres away from Panagia Kontariotissa, there is the modern monastery of Agios Efraim one of the most visited monasteries by Greek Christians.

Church of Panagia | Pythio

The church of Panagia at Pythio is a three-aisled basilica with a wooden roof, built in 1638. The church used to function as a monastery and is decorated with lovely murals. It is unique in that it has the only cyclical bell tower in Greece.

Maritime museum of Litochoro

The maritime museum of Litochoro sheds light on an unknown side of the mountain town: the seafaring. This was the main occupation of the inhabitants from the 17th to the 19th century! Photographs, casts, and drawings of old sailing ships as well as various evidence (ship logs, marine contracts, marine sheets, sailors’ photographs, ship equipment and other items) from sailors’ families, ships and, generally, the maritime history of Litochoro.
According to the tradition, the first sailors came from Raedestos, Thrace, in the 15th century. During the centuries to follow and the Turkish occupation, Litochoro became a shelter to a lot of sailors chased away from all over the Aegean and the Ionian islands. During its flourishing period i.e. in the beginning of the 19th century, Litochoro owned a remarkable fleet of locally-built sailing ships, counting 150 to 200 small and large ships. Up to the first decades of the 20th century, the ships of Litochoro carried out the sea transport of Thessaloniki and the Holy Mountain while there are also captains who funded the construction of schools and churches in the town.

New monastery of Agios Dionysios

To the north of Litochoro lies the new Monastery of Agios Dionysios, where the monks of the old monastery were transferred after the latter was blown up by the German occupation forces in 1943. The new Monastery, which used to be the dependency of the historic monastery, keeps the relics that were saved from the fire (manuscripts, icons, crosses, etc.).