The Mount Pílio peninsula , with its lush orchards of apple, pear and nut trees and dense forests of beech and oak, seems designed to confound stereotypical images of Greece. Scarcely a rock is visible along the slopes, and the sound of water comes gurgling up from fountains or aqueducts beside every track; summer temperatures here can be a good 10°F cooler than on the baking Thessalian plains. Pílio is reputed to be the land of the mythical centaurs - thus the name Kentavros (Centaur) for various hotels and bars - and the site of revelries by ancient gods.

 

Pílio villages are equally idiosyncratic, often spread out over wide areas due to easy availability of water, their various quarters linked by winding cobbled paths. They formed a semi-autonomous district throughout the Ottoman occupation, and during the eighteenth century became something of a nursery for Greek Orthodox culture, fostered by semi-underground education and a revival of folk art and traditional architecture . There is also a strong regional cuisine , with specialities such as spedzofaí (sausage and pepper casserole), kounéli kokkinistó (rabbit stew) and gída lemonáti (goat stew with lemon sauce). To wash it down there's widely available, surprisingly palatable wine bottled by the Dhimitra Co-op at Nea Anhíalos. In the far south, the gastronomic pattern changes a bit: obvious touristic tavernas are confined to the coast, while unassuming-looking kafenía on most village squares function, after dark, as tsipourádhika producing tís óres titbits plus a few ready dishes. Herbs, a wide range of fruit, home-made preserves and honey are important local products and souvenirs, pitched at the roadside.

Many of the communities have changed little in appearance over the centuries, and reward visits with their ornate mansions, churches and sprawling platías - invariably shaded by several vast plane trees, sheltering the local cafés. The slate-roofed churches are highly distinctive, built in a low, wide style, often with a detached bell-tower, marble reliefs on the apse and always ornamented inside with carved wood. Two villages, Makrinítsa and Vyzítsa , have been designated by the EOT as protected showpieces of the region, but almost every place offers its own unique attractions.

Add to the above the delights of a dozen-plus excellent beaches , plus a growing number of maintained hiking routes, and you have a recipe for an instant holiday idyll - or disaster, if your timing is wrong. Lying conveniently between Athens and Thessaloníki, Pílio is a long-established favourite with Greek holiday-makers, who inundate the place at Eastertime or Christmas week, from mid-July to mid-August and during any three-day weekend year-round. At such times you'd really be pushing your luck to show up without a reservation, when, in any case, prices are the highest on the mainland. Additionally, many of the mansions restored as accommodation are typically unattended, their owners absent in Vólos unless they know they'll have customers; thus it's essential to reserve such lodging in advance year-round.