Tempe Valley Vale of Tempe

The river Piniós (Peneios), coming from Thessaly, flows through the 8km/5mi long gorge-like Vale of Tempe to reach the sea. Celebrated in antiquity for its abundance of water and luxuriant vegetation, and as the place where Apollo came to purify himself after slaying Python, the valley - the principal route into central Greece from the north - has lost much of its original character through the construction of a modern road.

Visitors traveling through the Vale of Tempe should spare the time to pause at a parking place, visit the Spring of Daphne in its shady setting and cross a suspension bridge to the much frequented cave chapel of Ayía Paraskeví. Just beyond this, going south, is the narrowest point in the gorge, Lykóstomo, the Wolf's Jaws. At the south end of the Vale, opposite the village of Témpi, is the site of the fortress of Gonnos, built by Philip II of Macedon to control the valley (Greek excavations). Beyond Témpi a road goes off on the left and climbs, with many sharp bends, to Ambelákia (5km/3mi; alt. 600m/1,970ft; pop. 1,500), on Mount Ossa.