Greece's highest mountain and the mythical home of the twelve gods, rising almost straight from the Aegean.
Walk the green Enipeas gorge, stand in Zeus' sanctuary at ancient Dion, or climb for two days to Mytikas at 2,917 m.
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Tours
Choose your Mount Olympus tour
In the centre, the day trip from Thessaloniki that most visitors book. On one side, the two-day climb to the
summit; on the other, a full day from Athens by train. Every card opens a full tour page.
Two days with mountain guides: up through the forest to a refuge at about 2,700 m, then Mytikas at 2,917 m if the weather allows. The real climb, not a view of it.
What's included
Transfers from Thessaloniki and Litochoro
One night in a mountain refuge
Mountain guides, small groups of 8 to 10 for the summit
Helmet and climbing gear for the final scramble
Cancellation fees depend on timing: check the listing
Ancient Dion with a guide, lunch in a village, then a short walk in the Enipeas gorge below the peaks. The easiest and cheapest way to see Olympus in a day.
What's included
Bus from Aristotelous Square or the Venizelos statue, 08:00
Dion archaeological site entry and guided visit
Lunch at a local restaurant
Short trek in the Enipeas gorge (weather permitting)
A morning Intercity from Athens to Katerini, then a guide and minibus to Dion, Platamon castle and the Enipeas gorge. Long, but the only way to fit Olympus into an Athens stay.
The Dion ticket is EUR 10 at the gate if your tour does not include it. Refuge beds are booked
directly with the refuges, from mid-May to late October.
Before you book
Most tours stop at 1,100 m. The gods lived at 2,917.
Almost every Mount Olympus day trip follows the same line. A bus or minibus leaves Thessaloniki in the morning, stops at
ancient Dion at the foot of the mountain, then climbs the road above Litochoro into the Enipeas gorge. You walk among
beech and pine, see the waterfalls, maybe the cave of Saint Dionysios, and head home. It is a lovely day. It is not
the top of Olympus.
The road ends at Prionia, at 1,100 m. Everything above is on foot: about three hours to Refuge A, then a hard
morning over scree to Skala and a short scramble on exposed rock to Mytikas. That is why the summit tours run over two
days, or start from a 4x4 track on the far side. Read the itinerary, not the photo of the peaks.
1,817
Metres between the end of the road at Prionia and the summit of Mytikas.
No car, cable car or tour covers them for you: you climb every one.
Day tripForest hikeTwo-day summitOne-day summit
Mytikas, the highest of the Olympus summits, first climbed on 2 August 1913.
01
Can I walk to the top?
To Skala and Skolio, yes. Mytikas itself needs a short scramble on exposed rock, with a helmet.
02
When can I climb?
June to October. Above 2,000 m, snow lies for about nine months of the year.
03
Do I need a guide?
Not by law, but for a first summit we would take one. Weather on Olympus turns fast.
04
Who should skip the summit?
Anyone afraid of heights or not used to six hours of steep walking a day. Book a day trip instead.
Your day
How a day trip runs
About eight hours from Thessaloniki and back. This is the usual shape of it.
01
Pickup in Thessaloniki
Meet in the centre or at your hotel and drive south on the motorway past Katerini. Olympus fills the windscreen near the end.
About 1 hour 15 minutes
02
Ancient Dion
The sacred city of the Macedonians: Zeus' sanctuary, theatres, Roman baths and the museum with the oldest known water organ.
About 2 hours
03
Lunch in the foothills
A taverna in Litochoro or a nearby village: grilled meat, pies, salads, and the mountain over your table.
About 1 hour
04
The Enipeas gorge
A short walk among beech and pine to waterfalls, green pools and the cave of Saint Dionysios, before the drive back.
Season, prices, fitness and how to get there: one tab each.
June to October: the summit season. The refuges are open and the high paths are mostly free of snow.
July and August: the busiest and hottest months. Start walking early: afternoon thunderstorms are common.
September: our pick for the summit. Fewer people, cooler air, more mist.
November to May: day trips to Dion and the gorge still run. Above 2,000 m it is winter mountaineering, with ice axe and crampons.
Group day trip from Thessaloniki with Dion and lunch: from $57.
Small-group or private hike: $127 to $146.
Day trip from Athens by train: from $166.
Summit: $231 in one day from Kalyvia, $300 over two days with a refuge night.
On your own: Dion EUR 10, a refuge bed EUR 18 for non-members, a taxi from Litochoro to Prionia about EUR 30.
Day trips: comfortable shoes and the ability to walk an hour or two on uneven paths.
Summit: about six hours of steep walking a day, a head for heights, and boots with grip.
Bring layers, a waterproof, a hat and 2 to 3 litres of water. A sleeping bag liner for the refuge.
Helmets for the final scramble come with the guided summit tours, or can be rented at Refuge A.
Thessaloniki: about 90 km to Litochoro on the A1, roughly an hour. KTEL buses run almost hourly.
Athens: Intercity trains stop at Katerini, not at Litochoro. Or join the day tour by train.
Litochoro station is by the sea, about 6 km below the village: take a taxi.
By car: the paved road ends at Prionia (1,100 m), with free parking. Details in how to get there.
ThessalonikiAbout 90 kmAn hour's drive to Litochoro, the base town under the peaks.
Prionia1,100 mThe end of the road, a cafe and the start of the summit path.
Refuge AAbout 3 hoursSpilios Agapitos, about 2,100 m, 110 beds, open mid-May to late October.
Mytikas2,917 mThe top of Greece, about 3 more hours from the refuge.
DionEUR 10The ancient city at the foot of the mountain, included on most day trips.
Refund24 hoursFree cancellation up to a day before on most tours here.
Where it happens
Where Olympus begins
Litochoro, at the foot of the mountain
Most tours: pickup in central Thessaloniki, Katerini station or Athens Larissa station
Olympus stands on the border of Macedonia and Thessaly, between Thessaloniki and Larissa. Litochoro is the town where
almost every trip begins: the Enipeas river runs through it, the gorge opens behind it, and the road climbs from its
top square to Prionia. Ancient Dion lies a few kilometres north, on the plain toward Katerini. The one-day summit tour is
the exception: it starts from Kalyvia on the western side.
Thessaloniki to Litochoro: about 1 hour
Litochoro to Prionia: about 18 km of mountain road
Olympus is not only peaks. The foothills toward the sea are olive country, and this short guided walk ends with a tasting of extra virgin oil under the trees. Easy, cheap and a good rest day after a hike.
Olympus is a whole massif, not a single peak, and the word "tour" covers very different days on it.
Here is how to read them.
One mountain, many summits
The ancient Greeks put the palaces of the twelve gods up here, and from the coast you can see why: the mountain rises
almost straight out of the Thermaic Gulf to nearly 3,000 metres. The highest point is Mytikas at 2,917 m, often rounded to
2,918. Next to it stand Stefani, the "Throne of Zeus", Skolio at 2,911 m and Skala at 2,866 m. Of the more than 10,000
people who head up each year, most stop at Skala or Skolio. Mytikas needs your hands as well as your feet.
The lower slopes are a national park, the first in Greece, created in 1938. It is forest country: oak and fir, then
black pine, then the gnarled Bosnian pines at the tree line around 2,500 m, the highest in Europe. Around 1,700 plant
species grow here, 23 of them nowhere else.
Above Refuge A the forest ends and the path turns to scree and rock.
The day trip: Dion, Litochoro and the gorge
This is what most people book, and for most people it is the right call. Dion was the sacred city of the Macedonians,
where Alexander the Great made sacrifices to Zeus before marching on Persia. You walk through sanctuaries, theatres and
Roman baths, and the museum holds the oldest known water organ. Then the bus climbs above Litochoro into the Enipeas
gorge for a walk to waterfalls and cold green pools. It is shady, easy and beautiful. The highest you reach is about
Prionia, at 1,100 m.
The honest small print: a photo of snowy peaks on a day-trip listing shows the view, not the
destination. If you want to stand above 2,000 m, book one of the summit tours.
The summit: two days, one scramble
The classic way up starts at Prionia. Three hours of steady forest path bring you to Refuge A, Spilios Agapitos, where
you sleep. The next morning you climb about 800 metres over open ground to Skala, then cross to Mytikas by the Kakoskala
ridge or up the Louki gully. Both involve real scrambling with a drop below you, and loose rock. A helmet is standard.
Guided tours provide the gear, choose the route on the day, and turn back when the weather says so, which on Olympus
happens. The difficulty guide goes step by step.
The Enipeas gorge, where most day trips walk, crosses the river on wooden bridges.
Timing it
For the summit, go between June and October, and best in September. Snow lies above 2,000 m for about nine months,
and July brings afternoon storms, so start early. For a day trip, spring and autumn win: the gorge is green, Dion is
not baking, and the peaks often still carry snow for the photos. Whatever you book, keep a spare day. Mountain weather
cancels plans here more often than people expect.
Litochoro, the base town, sits right under the peaks.
Straight answers to what people ask most about visiting Mount Olympus.
Is Mount Olympus worth visiting?
Yes, if you know which Olympus you are buying. A day trip gives you ancient Dion, the stone village of Litochoro and the Enipeas gorge under the peaks: green, cool and full of myth. The summit is a separate, two-day project. Our worth-it guide weighs both.
Can you do Mount Olympus in one day?
You can see it in a day, and most tours do exactly that: Dion, Litochoro and a walk in the gorge, topping out around Prionia at 1,100 m. Reaching Mytikas (2,917 m) in a day is possible only on the one-day summit climb, which drives you up to about 2,400 m by 4x4 first. More in the day trip guide.
How much does a day at Mount Olympus cost?
Online, a group day trip from Thessaloniki starts at $57 per person with Dion entry and lunch, a small-group hike is $146 and a day from Athens by train is $166. On your own, the Dion ticket is EUR 10 and a taxi from Litochoro to Prionia is about EUR 30. The tours comparison lines them all up.
How long does it take to walk up Mount Olympus?
Two days for most people. Prionia (1,100 m) to Refuge A is 5.65 km and about 3 hours. From the refuge to Mytikas is another 3 km and about 3 hours, with 818 m of climbing, and then you walk all the way down. From Litochoro on the E4 it is about 8 hours just to the refuge.
Is Mount Olympus an easy climb?
The path to Refuge A is a steady, moderate mountain hike. Above it, the walk to Skala (2,866 m) is hard work on loose scree, and the last part to Mytikas is a scramble on exposed rock where a helmet is needed. Beginners who are fit can do it with a guide. See how hard is it.
Can you drive up Mount Olympus?
Only part of the way. A paved road climbs about 18 km from Litochoro to Prionia at 1,100 m, where there is free parking and a cafe. Above that you walk. On the west side, a dirt track from Kalyvia reaches a hut at about 2,400 m, used by the one-day summit tour.
How do I get to Mount Olympus?
Fly to Thessaloniki, then drive about 90 km (about an hour) or take a KTEL bus to Litochoro. From Athens, take the Intercity train to Katerini. Litochoro station is about 6 km from the village. Full details in how to get to Mount Olympus.
Where is the best place to see Mount Olympus?
From Platamon castle, where the mountain and the sea fit in one frame; from the beaches of the Olympic Riviera; and from Litochoro, right under the peaks. On a clear day you can see it across the gulf from the Thessaloniki seafront.
Is Mount Olympus bigger than Everest?
No. Mytikas is 2,917 m, about a third of Everest at 8,849 m. The mix-up comes from Olympus Mons on Mars, which rises about 21 km, roughly two and a half times Everest.
How cold is it at the top of Mount Olympus?
In summer, roughly 0 to 20 C on the high peaks, often with wind and fog, while Litochoro can pass 30 C. Snow covers the ground above 2,000 m for about nine months, and winter nights fall well below freezing. See the best time to go.
Is this the Mt. Olympus waterpark in Wisconsin?
No. This site is about the mountain in Greece. Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park, with its towel and ticket questions, and its neighbour Noah's Ark are in Wisconsin Dells, USA. Mount Olympus in Washington State is a different mountain too.
Can I cancel a Mount Olympus tour?
Most tours here cancel free up to 24 hours before. The 2-day Mytikas hike is the exception: cancellation fees depend on how close to the date you cancel, so read the terms before you book.
Ready to book
The gorge or the summit, pick your Olympus.
Pickup in Thessaloniki or Athens, and free cancellation up to 24 hours before on most tours.
The summit
★ 5.02 daysCancellation fees apply
