Route of Mount Athos
The route of Mount Athos refers to the element of fire of Aristotelian Philosophy. Apart from being a sacred place, Mount Athos has another peculiarity for climbers. Without being one of the highest mountains of our country, with its 2,033 m, it is in a way the most difficult. In all mountains the ascent starts from the point where a highway ends, a point at which you have already won an altitude difference. In Olympus for example this point is located at 1100 m. Mount Athos is the only mountain that you have to cover its entire height, as the ascent starts from sea level. Those who want to spend the night on top of it, as there is no shelter to accommodate them, must carry sleeping bags, food and water to consume.
As the mountain is not plowed by forest roads, the desolation and loneliness of the landscape, gives it a great wildness. A place of isolation, Mount Athos has these elements in the superlative degree. The eye sees the same images as one would have seen 10,000 years ago. Absolute silence, lightning struck trees and steep cliffs compose a landscape that only calms to the small church of the Transfiguration with the iron cross at the top. By the moment you get there and gaze at the vast landscape – a unique opportunity offered by the strange conical shape of the mountain, you know that it was worth the effort, no matter how hard it was.
