Hosios Loukas stands on a shelf of Mount Helicon, in central Greece, in a landscape of olive terraces and grey limestone, overlooking a wide green valley. The monastery was founded in the tenth century around the tomb of a hermit, Saint Luke of Steiris, who lived nearby and died in 953, and who was said to have predicted the Byzantine reconquest of Crete. It is one of the three great Middle Byzantine monasteries, with Daphni near Athens and Nea Moni on Chios, that UNESCO recognises together. Few people outside Greece have heard of it, which is a shame.
The glory is inside, in the church of the Theotokos and the larger katholikon, where the walls and domes shine with mosaics on gold backgrounds. Christ looks down from the dome, the saints stand in rows with long, solemn faces, and the marble floor and carved columns feel like a rich, quiet jewel box. In the crypt below, the saint's tomb is still venerated, and monks live at the site. The setting is peaceful, with cypress trees and mountains behind.
It has a dark chapter too. In June 1944, German troops carried out a massacre in the nearby village of Distomo, killing more than two hundred people, and a memorial there is a sobering stop for anyone passing. It is a reminder that this quiet countryside had a hard time in the war.
The riding is the pleasure of the approach. From the main road near Livadeia you climb through small villages on a winding road with olive groves, stone walls and terraced fields, and the surface is usually good, with the odd patch of loose gravel. The roads west toward Arachova and Delphi go over the shoulders of Parnassus and are among the best in Greece, with long climbs, deep valleys and big views. Summer heat is serious, so start early, and carry water.
Steiri and Kyriaki are small villages with a few tavernas but not much else. Livadeia, about twelve kilometres away, is the nearest sizeable town, with fuel stations, shops and cafés, and it is where you should fill up. Dress modestly when you visit the monastery, as shorts and bare shoulders are not allowed, and be prepared for it to close in the afternoon.