This is one of my hiking stories on a short sunset trip to Mount Poikilo Oros in Athens. If you are looking for inspiration and information for planning your hiking adventures throughout Greece, check out this resources page. Or check out this page for more ideas about hiking near Athens.
Mount Poikilo Oros (gr. Ποικίλο Όρος) is the lowest of the five mountains surrounding the metropolitan area of Athens. It extends for 11 km between Aigaleo and Parnitha mountains, and it separates the basin of Athens from the Thriasian Plain. It reaches a maximum elevation of 446 meters.
Originally it was covered by pretty dense vegetation, consisting mostly of olive groves and vineyards. But together with the rapid urban expansion that started in the 1920s, the vegetation receded significantly. The Oil Refinery of Aspropyrgos operating by its western foot is believed to have contributed a great deal to the area’s natural degradation.
Nevertheless, taking into consideration its great vicinity to the urban monster of the Greek capital city, Mount Poikilo may be still deemed a natural treasure for Athenians. It is one of the easiest mountains to reach from downtown Athens so that it makes an ideal destination for a short escapade to nature when the city’s bustling rhythms become suffocating.
That’s exactly what I and my Taiwanese friend Tsai, were up to the other afternoon. We drove off from central Athens, and in no more than 30 minutes, we arrived in Petroupoli district of Athens, right below Mount Poikilo.
We first took a drive to Petra Theatre, constructed within an old quarry on the slope of the mountain. That’s a pretty picturesque stone theatre overlooking the city of Athens.
We then drove up to the sports center located within another of the mountain’s old quarries. That’s where we parked the car and started on our short hike up the mountain.
There is a multitude of trails we could have followed spanning the entire mountain. The main choice was whether to remain at the eastern side and go for a view of Athens or to head to the western side where we’d get a stunning sunset view over the Thriasian Plain and the Gulf of Salamis. We took the latter.
So to also avoid the sweltering afternoon heat, we got on a nice trail meandering through the shady thickets. Those were comprised of small pines, cypresses, surprisingly many thyme bushes, and other typical Mediterranean shrubs. The views up to the mountain’s peaks to the left side and the plain down the right side were already pretty awesome along the way. Though the best view was reserved for the hike’s ultimate destination.
About an hour later we made it there. At 38.0344 – 23.6423 there is a bluff, after which the mountain drops steeply down to the plain. On top of it, there is some old construction of sorts (perhaps an ancient watchtower). That’s where you probably get the best view of the Thriasian Plain and the Gulf of Salamis that can be gotten.
We sat on the ground and got to revel in staring at the sun’s slow course toward the other side of the globe. Then we headed back to the car through the dusk.
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