What is Trekking?

Trekking is distinguished in simple trekking (hiking) and mountain trekking. In the first category, the minimum distance walked is 5 km, (about one to two hours) and it takes place on terrains with little slope (without high altitude difference) and with light equipment.

In the second category the distances travelled range in the area of 15-20 km with an average duration of 5 to 8 hours. In this category, the equipment is specialised and it has to be properly selected, especially for the winter trekking. Mountain trekking can take place on any mountain.

Basic features

The basic characteristics of this activity is the altitude difference of the route, which can be up to 500-600 m, and the fact that it usually takes place at an altitude over 500 m.

Ε4 & Ε6 Routes

In Greece, a complete network of motorways was not constructed until the recent decades. Only a basic network of highways served traffic. Until that time, communication and access to the communities was made possible via the trails, still called by some elder people "dimosia" (meaning public, main road), as this was the main road access in their days.

Although some of these old trails and stone-paved "kaledrimia" were converted to paved motorways, most of them still appear amidst the modern roads and keep crossing mountains, river beds and gorges.

So, in the last years, with funding from various organizations (municipalities, mountaineering clubs, private funding etc.), a big part of these trails was maintained, rebuilt and signed, all over Greece, forming a wide network with a total length of about 3.500 km. Their main part is extensions of the European long distance routes E4 and E6, category O (3.000 km), while, besides these, a network of smaller paths (500 km) has been organized, which is equally interesting.

In the 80's two of the European Long Distance routes, Ε4 and Ε6, were extended into Greece. Ε6 starts from the Arctic circle in Finland and heads south to the Adriatic coast, crosses Greece from the Ionian coast, along the northern border areas, ending in Thrace. Besides these, a smaller network of smaller paths (500 km) has been organized, which is equally interesting.

*Ε4 Route (-GR):  It starts in the Pyrenees mountain range and reaches Greece via former Yugoslavia. The Greek part of Route E4 crosses northern and central Greece, Peloponnese and ends in the seaside town in Gythio, with a continuation on the island of Crete. This way it offers the hiker or mountaineer the opportunity to get to know the variety of Greek scenery and the wealth of Greek nature. The highest altitude of the entire route is the peak Skolio (2911) of Olympus Mountain. The ideal time of the year for walking the E4 route is from May 15 until the beginning of October. The climate is of the Mediterranean type, with dry summer and a significant temperature difference between night and day. The period when snow can be encountered is from November till June.

*Ε6 Route:  Its Greek part consists of two legs: The first starts at the area of Prespes Lakes and it reaches the city of Igoumenitsa via Kastoria, Ioannina and Dodoni. The second leg starts in the area of Florina, crosses the mountain regions of western, central and eastern Macedonia (along the borders with t Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria) and reaches Alexandroupolis, in the area of Thrace.

Mountain climbing

Mountain climbing is the most difficult form of trekking. Its usual objective is to reach a certain summit. In mountain climbing, distance is not such an important factor. The most important factor is that an elevation difference of about 300 m. per hours is covered; this means that climbing an elevation of 1000 meters takes about 4 hours, including stops. A typical mountain climbing adventure lasts 7-10 hours including the return.