Hania, Tsagarada, Mouresi, Damouchari, Agios Ioannis: a side of Pelion where you can holiday all year round. The images offered by the mountain succeed one another, each more impressive than the last. Pelion villages nestle on the slopes amid chestnut forests, beeches, and plane trees, perfectly harmonized with their surroundings.

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Ancient churches, springs, shady squares, cafes, traditional taverns, guesthouses, and hotels of all categories welcome you at every destination. In summer, the combination of mountains and sea make Pelion even more idyllic: those who cannot bear the heat enjoy the coolness by staying in mountain guesthouses and then descend for a swim at the beaches. The following are the ones worth visiting on your next trip.

Agios Ioannis and Plaka

Agios Ioannis is a very popular family beach in Pelion. It has white, almost transparent pebbles and beautiful waters, with taverns, cafes, and hotels just a breath away. A short walk from Agios Ioannis (3′) will take you to the wonderful (and crowded) Plaka beach, with fine pebbles and crystal-clear green-turquoise waters. It is organized, has a beach bar, and the plane trees reach close to the water. Next to it, there’s another small, lovely beach.

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Agios Ioannis/Photo: Shutterstock
Plaka/Photo: Shutterstock

Mylopotamos

This is the most famous beach in Central Pelion for its beauty, and it is always crowded in the summer. The landscape is wild and awe-inspiring, with green and blue waters and white pebbles mixed with sand. A large rock separates the beach into two sections, with a tunnel running through it. There is a beach bar on site. If you prefer more tranquility, you can choose Limanaki, the point where Mylopotamos gorge meets the Aegean Sea.

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Mylopotamos/Photo: Shutterstock
Papa Nero/Photo: Shutterstock

Papa Nero

After Agios Ioannis’ camping site, on the southern side, lies the vast Papa Nero beach, organized at a few spots. It has fine pebbles mixed with sand and stunning waters (just hope it’s not windy, as the waves make swimming challenging). Above the beach, there are some well-made taverns, cafes, and small hotels.

The surrounding landscape is spectacular, with trees reaching close to the water and Pelion-style houses climbing the slopes. A few years ago, a coastal promenade was created, and car access was prohibited during the summer season. It is said that the beach’s peculiar name comes either from a priest who drowned there or from the eponymous spring at the Trypia Petra site.

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Damouchari/Photo: Shutterstock
Fakistra/Photo: Shutterstock

Damouchari

Who can deny the charm of its twin bays, the small harbor with the shipyard, and the “wild” beach with the white pebbles, which can be reached via a path from Tsagarada? However, when the wind blows at this beach, swimming might become difficult.

Fakistra

The 20-minute walk to this small, enchanting beach is well worth it. With its white pebbles and turquoise waters surrounded by imposing rocks, Fakistra is truly a sight to behold. On its northern side, there are two sea caves that knowledgeable visitors explore by boat or canoe to admire the stalactites in one of them.

On foot, you can visit the cave of Megalomata and the so-called “hidden school” of Fakistra (the short path starts to the left of the parking lot). You will admire the stone ruins inside the first cave and the small church of Panagia Megalomata in the smaller cave, whose icon has been transferred to Tsagarada. Tradition says that in the 17th century, a hermit sought refuge there and taught a few letters to children who came from Tsagarada, which is why the name “hidden school” has stuck. At some point, pirates killed the hermit, as they could not find the treasures they believed he hid.

Read also:

On one side the mountain and on the other the sea: the two sides of Pelion

Fakistra Gorge: Astonishing canyoning paradise at Pelion

Pelion beaches even the Cyclades would envy