Drakolimni & Smolikas peak 2.637m

A unique two-day hiking experience in Smolikas with an overnight stay at the Smolika Mountain Refuge and final destination the drakolimni and the Smolikas peak at 2,637m. The dense forests of black pines, beeches, firs and rombolas & the alpine meadows that we will cross until we reach the drakolimni are considered to be among the most beautiful – wild areas of Greece.

hiking | ascent to the Drakolimni of Smolikas | 17km | medium difficulty | ages: 16+

We depart early on Saturday morning for the village of Paleoselli (1080m. altitude), from where we will start walking to the refuge Smolikas (1750m altitude). The hike takes place on a path and a forest road and is of moderate difficulty (about 4 km).

On Sunday morning we depart for the second part of the hike (4.5 km) to the Drakolimni of Smolikas through a dense forest of pines and robola and after 1.5 to 2 hours we reach Drakolimni. After admiring the unique view, we start our return to the village of Paleoselli where we will meet our picnic, powered by Apallou. After the picnic we follow a path for about 10 minutes where we will find the bus for our return to Thessaloniki.

The mountai refuge of Smolikas is a stone building with rooms for 6 people. It is located at an altitude of 1750m, at the foot of Mount Smolikas, at the location ‘La Nane’, surrounded by a dense white pine forest (robolo) and is a station for the mountaineering path O3. After sunset the interior of the shelter is illuminated with oil lamps and the absolute absence of light pollution offers a magical spectacle to the sky.
The common areas include the hall with stove, fireplace and two large dining rooms, a shower, and separate men’s/women’s WC. he shelter operates an organized kitchen for all meals of the day, while many of the meals are cooked in a traditional wood oven!

The excursion takes place with a minimum required number of entries of 10 people and a maximum of 30 people.