Church of Acheiropoietos and The wider area of Mount Olympus
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
328 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 07
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
328 km from Ágios Pávlos to Ágios Pávlos, about 5 h 07 of riding. It goes by way of Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu, The wider area of Mount Olympus and back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Church of Acheiropoietos
The name of this church means not made by hands, and it refers to an icon of the Virgin that was believed to have appeared miraculously. The building itself is an early Christian basilica from about the middle of the fifth century, one of the oldest surviving churches in Thessaloniki and one of the best examples of its type in the Mediterranean. Inside you find a long nave with a double row of green and red marble columns, topped by carved capitals, and above them a gallery where the women sat. Light falls through the arched windows in a bright, even way, and the proportions are easy and noble. A few fragments of mosaic, with plants and birds, survive on the arches.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Church of Acheiropoietos is where the day begins. Next is Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu.
2. Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu
Vergina is a small village at the foot of the Pierian mountains in northern Greece, and for most of history nobody outside the region knew its name. That changed in 1977, when the archaeologist Manolis Andronikos opened a great burial mound here and found royal tombs with astonishing grave goods. The site is ancient Aigai, the first capital of the Macedonian kingdom, and one of the tombs is widely attributed to Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The prehistoric settlement and the large cemetery of burial mounds nearby show that people had been living and burying their dead here for a very long time before the Macedonian kings.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu comes up about 70 km into the recorded legs. Next is The wider area of Mount Olympus.
3. The wider area of Mount Olympus
The gods chose well. Mount Olympus rises almost straight out of the Aegean, from sea level near Litochoro to 2,918 metres at Mytikas, its highest summit, in barely twenty kilometres, so that from the coast road it looks less like a mountain than a wall of grey rock and dark forest with clouds snagged on top. The ancient Greeks put their twelve Olympians up there, and on a stormy afternoon with thunder rolling around the peaks you can see why.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Church of Acheiropoietos. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Church of Acheiropoietos to Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu
Church of Acheiropoietos → Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu to The wider area of Mount Olympus
Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu → The wider area of Mount Olympus is 93 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The wider area of Mount Olympus to back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu
The wider area of Mount Olympus → back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu is 95 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu to Church of Acheiropoietos
back through Bronze Age settlement and Cemetery of Tumu → Church of Acheiropoietos is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.