A few kilometres above Volos, built on the mountainside, Makrinitsa is often the first taste of Mount Pelion. It is called "the balcony of Pelion", and as soon as you reach its square you understand why: Volos and the Pagasetic Gulf spread out below.
The mountain of the Centaurs
In mythology Pelion was the mountain of the Centaurs. Here lived the wise Chiron, teacher of heroes such as Achilles and Jason. With its dense forests and abundant water, the mountain has always been a place of legends.
The villages
During the Ottoman period the villages of Pelion prospered through trade, crafts and shipping. That is when the typical mansions with stone-slab roofs, the churches and the cobbled paths linking the villages were built.
The folk painter Theophilos lived and worked in the villages of Pelion, and some of his works survive on the walls of cafés and houses in the area.
After Makrinitsa
Makrinitsa is only the beginning. Pelion has dozens of villages, from mountain squares with ancient plane trees to small Aegean coves on the eastern side. It deserves at least two days; see our guide to the villages of Pelion.
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