Horefto - Zagora - Panagia Rasova - Pouri
- Difficulty / Distance
- Moderate
- 16.78km
- Altitudinal difference
- 733m
- 764m
- 31m
- Ascend/Descend
- 1836m
- 918m
- 918m
- Duration
- 07:30
- Drinking water
- Unknown
- Marking
- Unknown
Starting from Horefto, we go up to the church Metamorfosi (Sotira) of Zagora. Then we go up a little further, we cross the stream of Kalokairinou having seen from some distance the big waterfall in Megalovrachos (it has water only in spring), we pass the Byzantine church Panagia Rasova (old monastery) and we go down to Puri. From there we continue on a very nice cobbled path along the coast until we return to Horefto. The Zagora-Rasova-Puri section is made on rural roads (dirt road or cement road) and has no markings, the rest of the route has red signs and various signs. Time 7-8 hours depending on the stops. The monastery of Panagia Rasova Zagora is one of the oldest monasteries of Pelion and specifically in the five oldest of the mountain of Centaurs. It was created around 1250, maybe even earlier. Evidence for the monastery dates back to 1270. It is a large monastery of the time with cells all around. Today only the church is saved, the katholikon as it is called, since the cells have been destroyed and have fallen, but even this is not in good condition. Maintenance efforts are being made with supports and various repairs, while many murals have been damaged. The monastery has been abandoned for many years, with the last monk having died around 1900. In recent years, after damage caused by poachers searching for pounds, it remains locked except on the day of its celebration on November 21 (Entrances of Theotokos).