Mount Olympus has 52 peaks, the highest one reaching 2,917m, and is called Mytikas, one of the highest peaks in Europe. Typically, people complete this adventure in two/three days. However, if you want to challenge yourself, hiking Mount Olympus in one day is possible. You will need to be fit because it will be a long day hiking.
There are 8 refuges in total, along with 6 more that are located in very important places to help the visitors in case of need. These 6 refuges only offer basic shelter in case of an emergency. Based on this info you might ask yourself: Is it possible to climb Olympus in one day?
And the answer is: Yes, it is. If you are up to a challenge then you will be fine to do it in one day. Of course, it depends on the number of peaks that you want to visit and most importantly, your fitness level.
Continue reading if you want to know how to climb Mount Olympus in one day.
General info
- Highest peak: Mytikas - 2917m
- Number of Refuges: 8
- Number of peaks: 52
- Hours hiking(including breaks): 14
Table of Contents
This is your guide on how to climb the Mount Olympus in one day:
This guide was created based on my personal experience, every person is different so it is hard to estimate the exactly amount of time necessary to go all the way up to Mystikas and return to Litochoro. In my case, I prepared myself to finish in a 15 hours windows, so in the end, hiking Mount Olympus in one day was a experience done in 14 hours. Let’s get started:
The route: Prionia - Skala - Mytikas - Gkorsia
There are two routes you can choose to reach Mytikas. We decided to try both routes to keep the hiking experience more interesting. We chose the route Prionia – Skala – Mytikas – Gkortsia.
The Gods blessed us with amazing weather. We were lucky! One day before our hike it was very cloudy and we were concerned about the views at the top and how that could affect our experience. Also, rain can make an already difficult hike even more difficult. The Yosemite Decimal System defines Mount Olympus climbing as a Class III, which is defined as “Scrambling with increased exposure. Handholds are necessary. A rope should be available for learning climbers, or if you just choose to use one that day, but is usually not required. Falls could easily be fatal”.
It all started in a cozy town called Litochoro
In the cozy town of Litochoro you can find good restaurants and a nice place to sleep. We stayed at the Kallisto Guest House. Shout out to the owner who was very kind to us. We told her that we were planning to hike the next day very early in the morning, so she made some sandwiches and gave us slices of a cake and fruits to help us on the way. Real Greek hospitality.
In total we were calculating a 15 hours window to complete the hike. The plan was to start as soon as the sun rises (around 5:45 am) and return to Litochoro before sunset. It was July and the sunset was around 9 PM. We met a taxi driver at the Litochoro train station, so we got his number and organized a ride from Litochoro to Prionia. If you are planning to start early in the morning, I recommend you to do the same. There are several taxi drivers available since they are always doing the route between Litochoro and the Olympus hiking trail.
We started hiking from Prionia around 6:20 AM. I had chills because I was very excited about hiking Mount Olympus in one day. From there we reached the first refuge ‘Spillios Agapitos‘ (Refuge A). It took us a bit less than 2 hours to reach it. We had a small break to eat something and continue hiking to Skala. There were a lot of dogs outside of the refuge but they were very chill. Only one of them was barking like mad at people, I guess it was a bad night for him and he was looking forward to sleep a bit 🙂
At the Mytikas peak
When you reach the summit peak of Mytikas, you will find an iron box with a book in it for you to sign and make history. Be proud of yourself!! I believe that we spent around 20 mins at the top, enjoying the view and resting a bit. After that, we started hiking the route to Gkortsia.
There are only two routes to reach the summit of Mytikas, one is from Skala and the other one is from Gkortsia. Climbing down was more difficult than I expected. It was a bit scary to see that one mistake could be fatal. Be careful when you climb down. In total, it took us between 1-2 hours to finish the climbing. We are not done with hiking Mount Olympus in one day yet, so time to hike a bit more….
From Mytikas to Gkortsia
I was surprised by the number of deers I saw on the way. It feels like they are still not used to the number of people hiking there. They are always staring at you, watching your moves. I don’t know if they are dangerous, at one moment there were more than 15 of them near to us. I tried to get close to one and take a nice picture but it ran away. The views are simply beautiful. I was surprised by the landscapes in Greece, so far I have only been to the seaside, so it was a good surprise.
After 3-4 hours hiking we managed to reach Gkortsia. When we finished our hike, the taxi driver drove us back to Litochoro. There we had a meal in homage to the Gods. The restaurant Gastrodomio was a great choice. I had good vegetarian options there, super tasty. It’s a bit pricey compared with other local restaurants but it’s definitely worth it. It was a great way to finish our hiking experience. Strava told us that we spent almost 14 hours from Prionia to Gkortsia. We deserved a great meal after that!!
The end of an incredible experience
So that was my experience hiking Mount Olympus in one day. One of the best experiences in my life!! It’s incredible how the landscapes are beautiful and fresh, with a lot of different scenery.
Another reason why this experience was memorable is the fact that the mountain has a special meaning to me: As a fan of Greek mythology, I have read the Iliad and the Odyssey. I’m also a big fan of the God of War series, so it felt magical to be there, where the house of Zeus and the other Gods is located.
I hope that you have enjoyed this article.
What to bring with you
- A lot of water
- Good hiking shoes
- Sunglasses and sun protection
- Food (However you can find easily at the refuges)
- Good and positive energy. Life is good!!
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