Portaria: The grand lady of Pelion
ne of the most popular villages of Pelion, and in the entire country, Portaria combines the atmosphere of an authentic Pelion village with unsurpassed views of Volos and the Pagasetic Gulf, as well as considerable tourist infrastructure development. Its picturesque natural beauty and close proximity to the Pelion ski centre, the sea, and the city of Volos, make it an ideal destination and a great base for excursions all over Pelion.
Trees and flowers decorate the cobbled streets, traditional stone houses and the squares, and scattered around the village are great mansions, ornate stone fountains, churches, chapels and other monuments.
The village is a holiday destination all year round, as a cool retreat in the summer months with swimming on the coast of the Aegean and the Pagasetic Gulf, for skiing in winter, but also for excursions, hiking and other activities in the autumn or spring nature.
Things to do in Portaria
• Take a walk along the Centaurs Trail with its ancient plane trees and running waters. Don’t miss this walk through the beautiful countryside, next to sparkling streams that bubble down from the top of the mountain!
It is the most enchanting walk!
• Sign up for the Karaiskos Farm cooking classes and you’ll have the opportunity to knead and bake bread in the traditional wood oven, and you’ll learn how to cook traditional Greek recipes with organic products, all freely available from the farm’s kitchen gardens.
• Enjoy a great lunch or dinner at the Kritsa Gastronomy Hotel restaurant.It is located in the central square of Portaria under its shady plane trees, and for years now, it has been serving authentic traditional food with a variety of oven-baked dishes, grilled meat to order, pies made with traditional phyllo pastry, pasta, and more.
• Stop for a moment roughly half way along the road from Portaria to Makrinitsa on the left, where you enjoy the sunset at Aeriko, a beautiful cafe with a wonderful view,
with fantastic sweets, snacks, and a wide selection of coffees and cocktails.
The view of Volos and the Pagasetic is magnificent.
• Visit the chapel of Panagia Portaria, built in 1273, and light a candle.You find yourself in the parish of the Church of Agios Nikolaos, whom the area is also named after.
• Visit Agora 1955 in the center of the village to buy for you and your friends products from our farm and other local producers like olive oil, local wines, jams, local pasta.
• Enjoy the journey from Portaria to Makrinitsa on foot, and admire the stunning view.
• Walking the cobbled streets and paths of Portaria is the most direct way to get an authentic feel for life on the mountain.
• Hire a bike, another way to get to know the beauty of the mountain.
