Valley of Tempi
Even ancient Greek Gods were taken aback by its beauty. Between Mount Olympus and Kissavos, with River Pineios flowing through, the Vale of Tempe, which is 10km long, is an ode to the Mediterranean nature and it is easily accessible by car. Walking down the footbridge you will reach the waters of Pineios, just before the river empties them in the Aegean Sea. Cool off under the shadows of the riverside forest, which is full of plane, elm and willow trees, discover the beautiful flowers growing within the rocks of the canyon and watch rare bird species finding refugee in the dense vegetation. There is, also, the chapel of Agia Paraskevi and the cave with the holly water spring, both of which make Tempe a popular place for religious pilgrimage.
Waterfalls of Agia Kori
Agia Kori waterfalls. The small chapel of Agia Kori and the waterfalls are located shortly outside of Vrontou, in the northern part of Olympus. Agia Kori (ed.note: Agia Kori means Holy Daughter) lived during the period of Ottoman rule. She was a young girl who fled to Mt. Olympus in order to escape the wrath of Ali Pasha. Although Agia Kori she has not been officially recognized as a saint, she is venerated by the devout and numerous miracles have been attributed to her. A descent of approximately 175 steps leads to the chapel standing before the rivulet. Following the ensuing path, one stands before a beautiful waterfall, calling for exhilarating plunges into these natural ponds with the crystalline waters.
Waterfall “Kokkinos Vrahos” | Orlias
The streams running on the roots of mount Olympus create spectacular falls. In a distance of approximately 3 kilometers from the village of Karitsa, there is a beautiful worth-visiting spot, Agios Vassilios, surrounded by numerous plane trees. At 5kilometers from the village of Dion, the visitor comes across the location Agios Konstantinos from which one can also access the canyon of Ourlias where one can enjoy various mountain activities and take a cool break during the summer months. The location is one hour’s walk away from Dion archaeological area.
Enipeas waterfall
The canyon and waterfall of Enipeas is one of the most enchanting and popular trails of Mt. Olympus visitors. Both are easily accessible, either by embarking from “Myloi” in Litochoro, which is one of the entrance points to the Olympus National Park, or by driving to Prionia (1.100 m altitude) and continuing on foot back to Myloi. By following the course of Enipeas, the river is crossed a total of seven times over picturesque bridges and through lush vegetation. Small waterfalls, lagoons and gorges compose an ethereal landscape. The Old Monastery of Agios Dionysios leads to the magnificent Enipeas Waterfall, dropping from a 38 meter height into a mythical blue-green lake.
Pinios Delta river
The wetlands at the estuary of Pinios River, are located in the eastern part of Thessaly and 1km north-west from Stomio village. It covers a total area of 2600 hectares and belongs exclusively to the State. Its flora includes over 600 types of plants. In some sections of the wetland’s perimeter, there are crops and thickets of evergreen broad-leaved plants.
The estuary of Pinios has riverine and coastal forests, scrublands and dunes. Breeding species include the little bittern, the night heron, the black stork, the white stork, the honey buzzard, the Egyptian vulture, the griffon vulture, the short-toed eagle, the lesser spotted eagle, the golden eagle, the booted eagle, the lanner, the peregrine, the rock partridge, the stone curlew, the eagle owl, the kingfisher and the semi-collared flycatcher. Other species inhabiting the area are the lammergeier, the black vulture, the osprey and Eleonora’s falcon.
Aside of water supply provisions to arable farmland and rich variations in landscape, the estuary is also a natural reserve of rare bird species, included in the European Natura 2000 Network.
