The Pelion area invites you to explore its rich history, with over 40 mountain villages built by skilled stonemasons from the Epirus region. Even under Turkish rule, the self-governing mountain communities flourished, trading in olive oil, olives, fruit, chestnuts, silk and wood and transporting their goods to the sea on mules. Each village had its own beach, which served as a port.

The privilege of autonomy is considered as the basis for the prosperity that reached its peak after the Turkish rule in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Most of the villas, monasteries, bridges, fountains and paved footpaths, called “Kalderimia” that we admire today, were built at that time.

At the end of the 19th century installed Evaristo Di Chirico, the father of the painter Giorgio de Chirico, an artistic railroad between the villages. Till this day, commutes the train in the summer months between Ano Lechonia and Milies.

Today, many old Kalderimia and paths have been converted into asphalt roads, but this unfortunately was not enough to prevent the creeping economic downturn of the Pelion mountain villages.
More about the villages and their history.

The Church of the Almighty Taxiarchs in the mountain village of Milies is well worth a visit. Built without a bell tower or other religious symbols, it is constructed entirely of wood to prevent any sound from escaping and conceal the true nature of the building.

Built with Turkish permission in the 18th century, the church impresses with its unique acoustics and energetic post-Byzantine paintings in the vestibule.

More about our holiday cottage in Lafkos, the village, events, hiking in Greece and other tourist excursions like the Pelion train is reachable searching the web or within our personal guide’s. Everything about arriving or booking is here. We are also glad about a message or your contribution in our guestbook.