Tsagarada is not one village but four, strung down a steep wooded slope on the Aegean side of Pelion, each with its own square and church, and linked by lanes that wind through chestnut, plane and walnut trees. They climb from the sea toward the mountain crest, so that the highest hamlet has the smell of wet leaves and the lowest has a view over the water, and the whole thing feels more like a forest with houses in it than a village with trees. Streams run through the lanes and fountains splash everywhere. It is one of the wetter corners of Greece, and it shows.
The central square, in the hamlet of Agia Kyriaki, is dominated by an enormous plane tree, said to be about a thousand years old, with a hollow trunk wide enough for a small room and branches that shade the whole space. Under it you will find a kafeneio, a fountain and the church, and in the evening the whole village gathers there. The slate-roofed stone houses date mostly from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when the silk and olive trade enriched the district, and many have been turned into guesthouses.
The road here is the great pleasure. From Zagora or from the coastal junction, the road climbs and falls along the mountainside, in a long sequence of curves and hairpins through dense forest, with sudden gaps that open on a view of the Aegean far below. It is narrow, with a good but occasionally damp surface, and there are many blind corners, so keep your speed down and your eyes open. Cars come the other way in the middle of the road. After rain, leaves, mud and small rockfalls can litter the tarmac, and in winter, the higher roads can ice over. Spring and autumn are the loveliest times, and in summer the shade is a relief from the heat of the plains.
Below the village, steep paths and a winding road lead down to the beaches of Mylopotamos and Fakistra, where white pebbles and clear green water lie under cliffs of dark rock. The descent is spectacular, and the return climb is a test for any bike, but the swimming is superb.
Services are modest. The squares have tavernas, serving grilled meat, local cheese pies and fresh salads, and a few small shops sell basics. There is no reliable fuel in the village, so fill up at Agria, about fifteen kilometres to the west, or in Volos, and carry a layer for the evening chill.