A hiking experience in the gorge of Vikos and the ravine of Aoos, a three-day stay in Evrytania with a crossing of the “Always Raining” gorge or a route on the Omalos Plateau of Chania, with a guide who will guide them safely along the path they will follow, can choose, among dozens of other possibilities, a group of friends, a family with children or individuals through the smarthikers.gr website. All the hiking trips organized by the approximately 110 mountaineering clubs, companies and other groups active in this field in Greece are gathered there. The visitor can still learn a lot about the wild mushrooms, mistletoe and bear holly that he will meet on his route, but also be informed about environmental issues, the relevant legislation and press reports.

“The website can be accessed for free from all over the world, while its creation resulted from the need to have all the planned excursions in one place so that everyone can choose the one that interests them”, explains Christos Karkanias, head of the of the smarthikers group and a post-doctoral researcher at EKETA, in the field of the circular economy. He remembers as a small child walking in nature in the area of ​​Amygdali Karditsa where he comes from, while growing up he started hiking with other people and groups and has now completed 20 years of presence in such activities in nature and in the mountains.

In the pandemic, there is a strong need for escapes to nature

“Many travel around Greece, looking to find, mainly on social media, routes and alternatives that they have not yet followed” he says characteristically and emphasizes that the sector experienced a great boom during the period of lockdowns and the pandemic in general, when people were closed forced into their home and strongly felt the need to get out and escape into nature.

However, apart from the destinations that exist in Greece, many mountaineering clubs organize hiking trips to mountains abroad, with accommodation in shelters and travel by plane. In any case, on the website you can search for the destination you wish to visit and choose a meeting point, date, mode of transport (car, bus or plane), duration of activity (day hike, two-day or multi-day excursion). In choosing the degree of difficulty, the possibilities offered are families with children, moderate, good or very good physical condition, winter mountain experience and excursions only for very experienced hikers.

Olympus at the top of the most popular destinations

Regarding the most popular destinations, Mr. Karkanias points out that Olympus is the top destination in Greece and all clubs organize at least two to three trips there a year. “Groups based in Xanthi, the Peloponnese and Crete include Olympus in their program, even if the excursionists need to take the ship or plane,” he comments. Taygetos, Parnonas and Agrafa gather the preferences of hikers.

The next goal for “smarthikers” is to offer their website’s information in English as well to serve foreign tourists who come to Greece and prefer, instead of staying in a city or an island, to explore the country’s mountains.