Believe Your Eyes: This is Skiing in Greece

Greece Is | February 1st, 2022

Did you know that you can ski on most of the Greek mountains? Don't believe us? Check this out.

When you’re skiing, would you rather look at: a. tall mountain tops and clouds, b. other skilled skiers, or c. a sea view?

In Greece, all options are available. While the country is far from famous for its white mountain peaks, they are there, and many Greek mountains in fact offer top-class skiing facilities. Ski touring is also increasing in popularity, with many a daredevil taking to the less-treaded slopes in places like the Pindos mountain range, but also to destinations very much accessible and bustling with human activity, like Parnassos, just a three-hour drive from Athens. From the top at the latter, just like at the popular but smaller facilities at Pilio and on the snow-clad peaks of Crete, a clear day offers a feast for the eye, as the sun glistens in the snow as well as in the Aegean Sea below.

And lately those aren’t even the only options. During the recent snowstorm, Elpis, and Medea of last year, ambitious skiers and snowboarders even took to the streets and hills of Athens.

You can find our guide to Greece’s popular ski resorts here. If you still need convincing that Greece in fact has snow, and slopes, and ski lifts, and people on them, check out these images below:

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Kalavrita

© Kostas Nikoletopoulos, Instagram: @kostas__nk

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Helmos

© Kostas Nikoletopoulos, Instagram: @kostas__nk

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After Ski

There’s a perfect ski resort for every avid skier and snowboarder in Greece, but even those who prefer to watch the powder from a distance, or spend their day building snowmen and posing for photos while their friends glide down the slopes, are likely to fall in love with the mountains. Villages near resorts like Arachova on Mount Parnassos, Kalavrita near Helmos, and Metsovo offer plenty of accommodation and dining options to suit every taste.

Even just hanging out at the resort chalet, cradling a hot cup of cocoa and enjoying the view, can be worth the trip up the snowy roads (don’t forget your snow chains).

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Helmos

© Natalia Mpazani, Instagram: @_natalia.mp

Spectacular Natural Surroundings

When you close your eyes and think of Greece, this is not what comes to mind, but maybe it should be. From the reaching the highest peak of Kaimaktsalan, with its mountain lake and snow so deep you could dig a cave in it and stand up straight inside, to chance wildlife encounters, to the watching the sun set into the Aegean Sea and Pagasetic Gulf from the Pilio ski centre, the nature experiences you’ll have in the Greek mountains will be some of the best memories from your trip.