Hiking in Greece, November and December 2026: From Chestnuts to Snow
From mid-November to the end of December there are 102 organised hikes and treks on our calendar, in 31 prefectures. November is chestnut forests, fallen leaves and mushroom forays. December is the first snow, stone bridges in the cold and Christmas trips. Same mountains, two completely different moods.
You can see the full list on the hiking page. Here are the places they go to, because at this time of year the question is rarely "which hike?". It's "where do I want to spend a cold weekend?".
Papigo and the Astraka towers, Zagori. Photo: Ginak97, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Zagori and Tzoumerka
Stone bridges, stone villages, stone everything. Epirus in winter is what most people picture when they think of hiking in Greece, and the calendar agrees with them.
December starts with a stone bridges weekend from Thessaloniki: Kokkoris and Misios bridges along the dry bed of the Voidomatis, a night in Tsepelovo and a walk down to Kipoi past two more bridges. A week later there is a trip to the less visited eastern side, starting from Kapesovo, climbing the cobbled Vradeto Steps to the Beloi viewpoint over the Vikos Gorge and the next day up Avgerinos (1,750 m) on Tymfi.
Further south, Tzoumerka is the quieter neighbour that deserves more attention. On December 19-20 you can cross the restored Plaka bridge over the Arachthos and then walk the gorge path from Kalarrytes to Syrrako and the old Kouiasa mills. Two villages that look like someone hung them on the cliff and forgot to tell gravity.
Olympus and the mountains around Thessaloniki
If you live in Thessaloniki you are lucky this season (I'm sure you already knew that). Most of the northern trips leave from the city in the morning and are back for dinner.
On Olympus, the Enipeas gorge from Prionia goes mostly downhill along the river, past waterfalls, wooden bridges and the Cave of Agios Dionysios, ending at the Stavros refuge. Not the summit, but in December that is probably a good thing.
Closer to town, Chortiatis has a hike on the Ice-makers' path, named after the villagers who used to carry ice from the mountain down to Thessaloniki. Next time you complain that the fridge is noisy, think of them. And if you can't wait for the weekend, on Tuesday November 24 there's a full moon hike on Mount Sivri above Oraiokastro, with wine and a picnic at the top and the lights of the city below.
My favourite idea of the season: a hike up the Ramno Bor gorge to the Kounoupitsa waterfall, finishing at the thermal baths of Loutra Pozar. Four hours in the cold, then hot water. If someone has a better plan for a Sunday in December, I'm listening.
Vermio above Naoussa, Paiko, Voras and Beles are on the list too, mostly with the Thessaloniki clubs.
Pelion and Thessaly
Pelion in mid-November is all autumn colours, and the Pelion weekend on November 14-15 is graded for everyone: you walk on the rails of the old Moutzouris train over the De Chirico bridge to Vyzitsa, and the next day down through the beech forest from Chania to Agios Lavrentios. Two easy days, a lot of photos.
If Loutra Pozar gave you ideas, Thessaly has its own hot water. The Loutra Smokovou weekend on November 21-22 combines two hikes with a tsipouro-making demonstration (tasting included, obviously) and the thermal baths, where five springs come out at 37-40°C. People have been bathing there since at least 1662, so it's not exactly a secret.
Meteora is also on the list in late November and early December, with hikes around Kastraki and the rock hermitages.
Parnassos, Oiti and the Resistance Trail
Central Greece is where things start getting serious, and it's only a couple of hours from Athens.
On November 14-15 there's the National Resistance Trail crossing, 47 km over two days from Stromi to Gorgopotamos, for the 84th anniversary of the blowing up of the Gorgopotamos bridge. Along the way there are stops with testimonies from the people who fought there. Not an easy weekend, but probably one you will remember. There are shorter one-day options as well.
A day later, the hike to the Mantamia waterfall starts at the springs where the Boeotian Kifisos rises and follows the ravine past old watermills and the ruins of a 1924 hydroelectric plant. Easy, 3.5 hours, and plenty of running water.
On Oiti you can visit the Pyra of Heracles, the ancient sanctuary where the hero supposedly ended his life on a funeral pyre (cheerful, I know). If that sounds too easy, there's also an alpine camp below Pyrgos (2,156 m) in early December: you carry your own tent, food and water up to the plateau, spend the night, and climb the summit the next morning. Twenty-four hours with no room service.
Back on Parnassos, the hike from Sykia to Koniakos on December 12 crosses the Mornos river on foot, and the organisers ask you to bring a spare pair of shoes. I think that says enough. And when the snow comes, Parnassos has snowshoeing from the end of November through to March, with snowshoes for rent in Agoriani, Arachova or at the refuge. No equipment excuses.
Peloponnese: Mainalo, Parnon, Ziria and the coast
Mainalo and Parnon are the busiest mountains of the Peloponnese on the calendar, and November is their best month. The Ano Doliana chestnut forest hike on Parnon in mid-November sold out all 54 places, so the organisers added a second "farewell to autumn" date on December 5. That tells you something.
On Mainalo, there's a mushroom foray from Piana to Alonistaina on November 29 with a certified mushroom expert (please let the expert decide what goes in the pan). Alonistaina also hosts a Winter Festival at the end of November, where the hike ends just in time for the big fire in the main square. And on December 12 Mainalo celebrates International Mountain Day with a hike to Limbovisi, home of the Kolokotronis family, with food, drink and music at the finish. Hiking and then a feast. Very Greek, very correct.
In Corinthia, Ziria has an easy loop from Klimenti, one of the oldest villages in the area, and on December 19 the Corinth club goes to Ntourntouvana and Lake Doxa. In Elis, a weekend in late November combines Ancient Olympia with the Foloi oak forest and the gorge of the Centaurs.
The coast has two very different trips. On November 14-15, Monemvasia and Cape Maleas: the whole rock of Monemvasia on day one, the wild coastal path to Agia Irini on day two and then the petrified palm forest at Agios Nikolaos. And on December 18-20, Christmas in Mani, with coastal hikes to the Castle of Maina at Tigani and to the Tainaro lighthouse at Cape Matapan, the southern tip of mainland Greece. Probably the only places in this article where you might see more sun than snow.
Christmas in the mountains
If you would rather spend the holidays with boots on than in front of the TV, there are two options. The first is Christmas in Florina: Christmas Day walking at Prespes and on the island of Agios Achilleios, then Loutzer (1,977 m) from Pisoderi, and a day on the E4 from Drosopigi to Nymfaio.
The second is Smolikas right after Christmas: a winter traverse with the aim of reaching Geros (2,637 m), the second highest summit in Greece. This one is proper winter mountaineering with crampons and an ice axe, and the organisers ask for previous winter experience. We list it as difficulty 4 on the site. Please take that number seriously, the mountain will not care how fit you are on the treadmill.
Close to Athens
Not everyone wants to spend four hours in a coach. Parnitha alone has seven hikes in these six weeks, Hymettus and Penteli have a few more, and Schinias has a gentle hike in the pine forest followed by yoga by the sea.
A few stand out. On November 15 you can hike with your dog on Poikilo Oros (two places are reserved for shelter dogs, which is a lovely touch). On November 29 there's the first Sacred Way hike from Kerameikos to Eleusis, about five hours on the road the ancient processions took to the Mysteries, and you come back by regular bus. And on December 13 the Eva's Trail charity hike on Xerovouni in Evia, where the organisers guide for free and the money beyond the coach goes to ELPIDA, the association for children with cancer. An easy 2.5 hours for a good reason.
Before you sign up
Some of the trips come from mountaineering clubs (POA, EOS Athinon) and are for members of that club or of another club in the Hellenic Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing. If you are not a member, contact the club first. It's usually not complicated, just don't show up out of nowhere. Also, the popular November trips fill up fast (see Ano Doliana above), so don't leave it for Friday night.
For everything else: warm layers, waterproof jacket, gloves, and check the weather the night before. Organisers will change or cancel a route if conditions are bad, and that is them doing their job, not ruining your weekend.
January and February will get their own post once the clubs publish their programmes. So far we have the Corycian Cave above Delphi, New Year pies on Ziria and in Pelion, and winter ascents on Giona and on Dikti in Crete. More soon.
