A bit rugged with difficulty finding trail markers at times. Scenery is gorgeous with a deep gorge, an ancient bridge and spring along the way. We were alone the entire... read more hike. Well worth the effort.

  We had an awesome, memorable hike between Prodromos Monastery and the Philosopher's Old Monastery. A moderate hike that needs about 20 minutes to reach from one side to the other.... read more Excellent path signing, every few meters. Comfortable shoes are strongly recommended and the use of hiking poles would make your route easier, especially for a good balance in few steep parts. When reaching the Philosopher's Old Monastery, the view is breathtaking and it is really rewarding (yet almost unbelievable) to see the route you've just crossed, from above! Definitely worth the trip!

  I have lots in four continents, and I find that the Menalon trail was well designed, with changing landscape, connection to culture and people, and ease of navigation/logistic. If you... read more have the time to do the whole thing I highly recommend doing the whole thing but if you just do a part then the Stemnitsana-Dimitsana section was really nice for the monasteries.

I did it in 5 days in July. The heat was bearable since I left early morning, stopped mid-day, and walked again from 2-3 pm until the next village.

I did (1) Stemnitsa-Dimitsana, (2) Dimitsana- Zygovisti -Elati, (3) Elati - Vytina - Nymphasia ; (4) Nymphasia - Magouliana - Valtesiniko; (5) Valtesiniko - Lagkadia.

Day 1: Stemnista is a cute village, Dimitsana has everything you need. In Stemnista I asked the B&B owner and he helped me arrange transfer of my stuff to Lagkadia. Lots of culture in the trail with several monasteries. Really interesting! A monk explained the history of the monastery to me (in perfect French). I had snacks for that day

Day 2: Long day, I ran out of water. I usually carry 2 liters and refill during the day but on that day 3 liters would have been necessary since some water streams/sources are dry in July. I did not stop in Vytina. In Elati there is no guesthouse, so I rented an apartment from a local person. I got the contact by emailing the Menalon trail people. Elati has one taverna - shout out to John the 13 years old son of the owner for speaking good English! Great, hard hiking day, beer tasted great!

Day 3: Nice walk in the valley. In Nymphasia I stayed at the Nymphasia Resort Hotel, 20 minutes from the village. I stayed 2 nights, did not do much, ate a burger, went to the swimming pool, and had a massage because I'm worth it haha! The staff is great and will work hard to make you happy (including yogurt for supper brought to your room). Shout out to the receptionist guy who seems to work every day from 7 am until midnight, and still found the energy to worry that I was "relaxed ok"!

Day 4: Great hike in forest and open scrub. Stopped at the ermitage and was able to toll the bell several times as I was the only one. Neat experience! Had lunch in Magouliana before the main square. The taverna was busy and people all said hi and smiling. Nice, welcoming experience! That day was particularly hot as the afternoon walk is in open land (not forest) so take you time. Valtesiniko is my favorite village: small, authentic, beautiful, clean, well organized. The priest kind of walks around the village entering cafés and tavernas saying hi! Moussaka was great! From the top of the village you can see the mountains stretching and the churches down below lighted in blue and white. Shout out to the owners of Thea Valtesiniko who were super welcoming and caring.

Day 5: Wonderful walk in varied fir forest. Felt elated walking and stopping in the deep forest moss. I had snacks as this day there is no village between start and end. The weather was nice and the walk easy. Towards the end of the walk I was sad it was already over! There was a bus back to Tripoli at 8 am the day after. (Check schedule at your hotel).

  This is a bit of an undiscovered gem and one of the best walks I have done. We walked four sections of the trail with rest days in between. One... read more section is probably a day's walking although some sections you could do 2 in one day. Firstly it says the walk is moderate difficulty. I would agree but would clarify it: there are some steep uphill climbs and some long ones. You really do need a good level of fitness. Some sections there have been landslides and the paths are a little treacherous. Most of the paths we walked was well marked, but we did go wrong a few times and the section from Dimitsana to Filosophus we lost the trail completely. Lots of people walked Stemnitsa to Filosophus Monastery and it is really well marked but steep. All the other sections we walked we barely saw anyone. It is extraordinarily beautiful. I would say you need a good level of fitness. My biggest disappointment is that you can't easily hike with your things and then stay a night as some of the villages don't even have hostels. I had to stay in larger villages, get a taxi to the start point of a section, and then get a taxi back.