Mount Olympus Foothills Drive

To stand at the base of Mount Olympus is to stand at the edge of the mythological world. At 2,918 metres, Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and the legendary home of the twelve Olympian gods — Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Athena, and the rest of the divine council who presided over the ancient Greek world from their cloud-shrouded summit. The mountain has been a national park since 1938, the first in Greece, and its lower slopes are covered in a remarkable diversity of ecosystems: Mediterranean scrub at the base giving way to oak and beech forests in the middle altitude, then black pine and fir at the upper levels, before the bare rocky ridges and permanent snowfields of the high summit zone. Driving the foothills gives an intimate sense of this giant's scale without demanding the extreme driving ability required by the Pelion or the Mani.

The route begins in Katerini, the regional capital of Pieria, and follows the foothills south toward Litochoro. The first significant stop is the ancient city of Dion, one of the most important archaeological sites in northern Greece. Dion was the sacred city of the Macedonians — it was here that Philip II and Alexander the Great made sacrifices before their military campaigns, and the site's museum houses remarkable finds including intact ancient mosaics and a famous statue of Aphrodite. The archaeological park itself covers a wide area of partially excavated temples, city streets, and thermal baths, all surrounded by the broad plain that lies between the mountain and the sea. From Dion, the road climbs gently into the foothills to reach Litochoro, a mountain village that serves as the main gateway to the Olympus hiking trails and the Enipeas Canyon.

The Enipeas Canyon (also spelled Enipeus) is the secret highlight of this route — a deep gorge cut by a fast-flowing mountain stream through the lower slopes of Olympus, accessible on foot from Litochoro. The trail through the canyon leads eventually to the Monastery of St. Dionysius, built dramatically into the cliff face above the river at an altitude of around 850 metres. The path is one of the classic hikes of northern Greece and requires three to four hours one-way in reasonable fitness. For campervan travellers, the canyon is best explored on foot while the van is parked in Litochoro — there is no road access beyond the start of the gorge. The drive from Katerini to Litochoro itself is gentle and hilly rather than steep, with no major mountain passes — ideal for a classic van to cover at a relaxed pace.

For timing, May to October offers the most pleasant driving conditions. Spring is spectacular when the Olympus foothills are carpeted with wildflowers and the Enipeas runs high from snowmelt. Summer brings excellent mountain hiking weather (it is noticeably cooler at altitude than on the coastal plain) and the Dion archaeological site is at its most evocative in the long afternoon light. Late September and October are golden — the forests begin to turn, the light is extraordinary, and the mountain climbers who fill Litochoro's guesthouses in summer have gone home. The coastal plain and Katerini area can be very hot in July and August, but the foothills themselves offer relief at even modest elevation gains.