At the Throne of Zeus

The Throne of Zeus is one of the summits of Olympus mountain, home of the 12 Gods of Greek Mythology. It stands at a 2909 m. altitude.


To get there, you first need to drive to Litochoro, which is an hour drive from the city of Thessaloniki, to the south. The final spot where you park your car is called Prionia, at 1100 m. altitude.


From there you can follow a path through a forest of amazing natural beauty.


After approximately 3 hours of uphill walking, you reach the Zolota refuge located at 2100 m. altitude.


The refuge offers good food, a warm place to sleep and an amazing sunrise.


As you keep on ascending above 2100 m. the air is gradually becoming thinner. At such altitude humans are not significantly affected. However, vegetation becomes scarcer, until it disappears completely.


Turning your head towards the top, you stand in awe.


At such heights the air is clear and crisp, colors are vivid and you can only listen to the sound of the wind.


At 2760 m. stands Apostolidis refuge, the highest refuge in Greece. Located by the Throne of Zeus.


The peak of Profitis Elias (around 2800 m.) is just a 10-minute walk from the refuge. There is a small church there, entirely made of local stone.


This is where clouds are made.


Epic might be the right word to describe the views you get at such heights.


"Nature offers frames of amazing beauty to the ones that are not afraid to open their eyes" (jorge, 2008)