Thessaly beyond Salonica Attractions

Alonnisos The long rocky island of Alónnisos (formerly Khiliondrómia; in antiquity Ikos), one of the more secluded places in Greece, lies in the middle of the chain of the Northern Sporades, which runs west from Skíathos. Along the whole length of the island extends a ridge of hills which reaches its highest point in Mt Kouvoúli (1,562ft/476m). The northwest coast is fringed by cliffs; on the gentler southeast coast there are a number of sheltered bays. Here there are traces of settlement going back to Neolithic times.

The inhabitants of this island work in the fields on the small but fertile plains, or else as shepherds and seamen. The center of the island has submerged, leaving two small islets and several smaller ones. A rock mass called Psathoura is all that remains of ancient Alonnisos.

Skopelos - Churches / Monasteries Of the 360 churches, chapels and monasteries on the island of Skópelos the most interesting are the Evangelístria monastery (1712), above Skópelos town to the west, which has a 10th century icon of the Mother of God framed in silver; the 16th century Metamorfósis monastery southeast of Skópelos, the oldest on the island; the Áyios Taxiárkhos monastery, with an early Christian church (A.D. 672) in the forecourt; the monastery of the Panayía Livadiótissa (17th C.), on the east side of the island, with an icon of 1671 by the Cretan painter A. Agorastos; the Pródromos monastery (1721), also on the east side; the abandoned monastery of Ayía Varvára (1648); the ruined Episkopí monastery, southwest of Skópelos, with a church of 1078; the church of Áyios Reyínos, the island's first bishop and patron saint, to the south of the town (mid fourth C.); and the church of the Zoodókhos Piyí, with a wonderworking icon said to have been painted by St Luke himself.

Circuit of Mt Pelion Going northeast from Vólos, we come in 14km/9mi to Portariá (alt. 600m/1,970ft), from which we can take a road on the left to Makrynitsa (2km/1.25mi; alt. 600m/1,950ft), with a folk museum.

From Portariá we continue to Khaniá (12km/7.5mi; alt. 1,100m/3,610ft) and Zagorá (21km/13mi; alt. 500m/1,640ft), from which it is 3km/2mi to the beach at Khoreftó.

Going south from Zagorá, we come to the villages of Áyios Ioánnis (22km/13.5mi), on the coast, and Tsangaráda (11km/7mi; alt. 420m/1,380ft), and then return via Neokhóri (15km/9mi), Kala Nerá (14km/8.5mi) and Agriá (15km/9mi) to Vólos.

From Áfyssos a road goes down to Milína and Plataniá (29km/18mi), at the southern tip of the Magnesia peninsula.

Skiathos - Kastro Two and a half hours' walk north of the town of Skíathos (also accessible by boat), on an impregnable crag are the ruins of the island's medieval capital, Kástro. Of interest are stretches of the town walls, with a drawbridge, Turkish baths and three of the 22 churches the town once possessed, including the church of Christós sto Kástro (17th C.; frescoes).

In the 16th century the whole population of the island moved to the impregnable rock which rises to the northeast of the town of Skíathos and built their Kastro. A drawbridge was its only link with the rest of the island in the old days, but today it can be approached by climbing up some steps. Its walls once enclosed 300 houses, although none of these remain.

Koukinaries Nine km/5.5mi west of Skíathos (bus, motorboat) is the beautiful sandy bay of Koukinariés, one of the finest bathing beaches in the Aegean, with a fringe of umbrella pines to give shade. There are also interesting sea-caves.

This fabulous pine grove fringes a long stretch of golden sand for 1,000 m, and most of its 30 m width is shaded by pines and shrubs. Behind the grove there is a lovely lagoon, wheat fields and olive groves. From Koukinaríes you can walk to the beach of Ayía Eléni, which faces the southern shores of Mt Pelion. It is splendidly isolated and offers good fishing.

Mt Pelion The Pelion range extends to the south of Mt Ossa along the east coast of Thessaly as far as the Magnesia peninsula, which encloses the Gulf of Vólos. Rising to a height of 1,054m/3,458ft in the peak of Mavrovoúni, to the north, and to 1,618m/53,09ft in Mt Pelion itself, above Vólos, it falls steeply down to the east coast, a rugged stretch with no natural harbors.

Pelion was renowned in antiquity for its healing herbs and as the home of the Centaurs, one of whom, the wise Chiron, noted for his skill in medicine, was the teacher of Asklepios and Achilles. Beneath the peak of Pliasídi (1,548m/5,079ft), which can be climbed from Portariá in three and a half hours, are the Cave of Chiron and a sanctuary of Zeus Akraios.

There are large tracts of deciduous forest in this region. The 24 villages which grew up here, well supplied with wood and water, prospered and during the Turkish period were able to retain a measure of independence. Some of these villages can be seen in a round trip from Vólos, which in addition to the charm of the villages themselves and the magnificent hill scenery takes in the beautiful sandy bays on the east coast.

Northern Sporades Islands In antiquity all the islands around the Cyclades were known as the Sporades (the "Scattered Islands"). Nowadays a distinction is made between the Northern Sporades or Magnesian Islands, lying northeast of Euboea - Skópelos, Skíathos, Alónissos, Skyros and some 75 smaller islands and islets - and the Southern Sporades, off the southwest coast of Asia Minor.

Skiathos Chief place: Skíathos

Skíathos, a gently rolling wooded island in the Northern Sporades, lies 4 km/2.5 mi east of the Magnesia peninsula. With its equable climate and beautiful sandy bays, it is a popular holiday island, particularly favored by Greeks. Its main source of income apart from the tourist trade is its 600,000 olive trees.

Skíathos was never a place of any importance in ancient times. Herodotus mentions the island in connection with the naval battle off Cape Artemision in 480 B.C., reporting that the men of Skíathos conveyed information about Persian naval movements by means of fire signals.

Airport 4 km/2.5 mi northeast of Skíathos. Daily flights from and to Athens in summer (55 minutes).

Regular boat service from Áyios Konstantínos, most days; from Vólos, two to five times daily (three to three and a half hours); from Kymi (Euboea), three times weekly (five hours). Connections with neighboring islands.

Unfortunately in July of 2007 the island suffered a forest fire, causing temporary evacuations, along with devastation to the island.

Skopelos Chief place: Skópelos

Skópelos, known in antiquity, down to the A.D. third century, as Peparethos, is a hilly and well wooded island in the Northern Sporades. The steep northeast coast is unwelcoming, and, apart from the wide bay of Skópelos near the east end, without inlets or irregularities of any consequence, and the gentler southeast coast is also relatively featureless. The fertile areas on the island are mainly devoted to the growing of almonds and fruit (particularly plums; dried fruit packing station in Skópelos town). In many convents the nuns make woven goods and other craft products for sale. The tourist trade also makes a contribution to the island's economy.

The oldest traces of human settlement date from the Neolithic period. The ancient city of Peparethos was said to have been founded by the Cretan hero Staphylos, son of Dionysos and Ariadne. In the so-called Tomb of Staphylos gold jewellery, idols, a variety of implements and utensils and Minoan double axes were found; they are now in the museum in Vólos. The archeological evidence indicates, however, that from an early stage the inhabitants of the island were influenced by Mycenaean rather than Minoan culture.

After the seventh century Skópelos prospered, and the tribute it paid as a member of the first Attic maritime league was substantial. The Peloponnesian War, however, quickly and finally put an end to its prosperity. Thereafter it had a succession of different masters - Macedonians, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and finally Turks - who allowed this remote and economically unimportant community a considerable measure of autonomy. In 1830 it was reunited with Greece.

Regular services from Áyios Konstantínos and Vólos, several times daily (four and a half hours in each case); also from Kymi (Euboea), three times weekly (three and a half hours).

Skyros Chief place: Skyros (Khóra)

Skyros, the largest and most easterly of the Northern Sporades, is a rugged island, partly covered by a sparse growth of trees, with a much indented coastline. It is divided into two distinct parts by a strip of sandy low-lying land between Kalamítsa Bay on the west and Akhílli Bay on the east. The southeastern half of the island is occupied by the steep and arid massif of Mt Kókhilas (814m/2,671ft). In this area are the quarries of the coarse-grained variegated marble which was much prized in Roman times. The northwestern half, rising to 403m/1,322ft in Mt Ólympos, is a region of gentler contours, with more water and a more fertile soil. Here are the Mármara quarries, which have been worked from antiquity into modern times. The coasts of the island are steep and inhospitable, but there are beautiful sandy bays at the foot of the cliffs.

In recent years the traditional terraced agriculture, practiced since ancient times, has been giving place to the rearing of goats. The small pony-like horses which used to live wild on the island, particularly in the barren southeast, are now much reduced in numbers. The island's main sources of revenue, in addition to farming, are a limited tourist trade and the sale of its high-quality craft goods (embroidery, carved furniture, pottery, copperware).

According to legend Thetis disguised her son Achilles as a girl on Skyros in an attempt to prevent him from fighting in the Trojan War. Traces of Neolithic occupation (fifth millennium B.C.) have been found northeast of the Venetian castle. In the second millennium B.C. Carian and Pelasgian farmers and seafarers settled on the island, which then became known as Pelasgia. In the first millennium B.C. they were displaced by Dolopians, a Dorian people, who made the island, now called Dolopia, a base for plundering raids in the Aegean. In 469 B.C. Athens drove out the pirates and settled farmers from Attica on the land. In Roman times the islanders achieved a modest degree of prosperity through the export of their much sought-after marble, but their remote island remained of no political importance. Skyros was reunited with Greece after 1821.

Flights from Athens several times weekly (50minutes).

Regular boat service from and to Kymi (Euboea), four times weekly (two hours); from and to Vólos, twice weekly (12 hours).

Skyros - Town The chief place on the island of Skyros is also named Skyros (Khóra). It lies on the east coast. This little town of typically Cycladic whitewashed cube-shaped houses, finely decorated and furnished, nestles on the slopes of a hill, the rocky summit of which was occupied by the ancient acropolis (fourth century B.C.; remains of walls) and is now crowned by a Venetian castle (originally Byzantine), the Kástro (view). From this crag, it is said, Theseus was cast down to his death; according to the legend his remains were later found here and deposited in the Theseion in Athens. In the Kástro is the former monastic church of Áyios Yeóryios (museum).

In Platía Kyprou can be seen a monument to the poet Rupert Brooke, who died on his way to the Dardanelles in 1915 and is buried in the bay of Tris Boúkes.

Skopelos - Town The chief place on the island of Skópelos bears the same name. The town lies in a wide unsheltered bay on the site of the ancient and the Byzantine capital. Its narrow lanes and whitewashed slate-roofed houses climb the slopes of the hill above the harbor, on which are the ruins of a Venetian castle and the foundations of a temple of Asklepios (fifth-fourth century B.C.). The flanks of the hill are covered with beautiful olive groves. The town is said to have some 120 churches and chapels, some of them dating from Byzantine times. The most notable are the churches of Áyios Athanásios (ninth-11th C.), built on the foundations of an ancient temple, and the Archangel Michael, with fine carved woodwork, icons and ancient gravestones. There are scanty remains of settlements at Pánormos on the south coast and round Glóssa, the site of ancient Selinous, on the northwest coast.