Olympus Adrenaline & Nature Festival Brings Pieria Region into the Spotlight

Hiking experience up Mt Olympus during the 1st Olympus Adrenaline & Nature Festival in Litochoro.

Activities on and around Mt Olympus took center stage during the 1^st Olympus Adrenaline & Nature Festival held in Litochoro, Pieria, late last month.

Among others, more than 70 experiences were offered free of charge to participants who had the chance to learn more about the Pieria Regional Unit, Central Macedonia, which in addition to Mt Olympus includes a 77km coastline with beaches, 400 hotels, 900 rooms to let, and dozens of seafront campgrounds.

GTP Headlines had the chance to attend, meet with local stakeholders, and participate in some of the experiences which included hiking, tastings, learning about beekeeping and wine-making practices, canyoning, birdwatching, climbing, e-biking, therapeutic horseback riding, acroyoga, sea sports, Pilates in the Archaeological Park of Dion, and boat trips. Kiddies also loved the climbing wall, pottery-making, color and survivor-style games.

The festival held in the main square of Litochoro, at the eastern foot of the Mt Olympus, about an hour’s drive from Thessaloniki, also included workshops on first aid, backpack essentials, survival basics, trail signposting, nutrition, local herbs, and mountaineering. The two-day event peaked with a concert featuring local musicians, students, and dance troupes.

Pieria: Beyond Mt Olympus

The 1^st Olympus Adrenaline & Nature Festival was organized by the Regional Unit of Pieria and the Pieria Organization for Tourism Development and Promotion (POTAP) with the guidance of OpenWays Events & Travel and the support of the Dion-Olympus Municipality and the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO).

“We are very proud of our first festival held in Litochoro because the goal was to engage the local community, producers, and services providers and to introduce visitors to the offerings of the Olympus Riviera,” Litochoro Deputy Mayor for Tourism and Education Sofia Zourzoura told GTP Headlines.

Deputy Regional Governor of Pieria Sofia Mavridou.

Zourzoura attributed the success of the first event to the “active participation of local stakeholders, producers, volunteers who all came together to showcase a region that combines the divine mountain, Mt Olympus, with the sea and all this all year round”.

For Litochoro-born Zourzoura, the first step marks the beginning of a new institution. The goal, she explains, is for the Olympus Adrenaline & Nature Festival to become a regular annual event growing in size and numbers.

Creating Synergies

In addition to being the tallest mountain in Greece rising to 2,917.727 meters (9,572.60 ft), Mount Olympus is also among the most popular hiking summits in Europe. Since 1938, it has been designated as a National Park and World Biosphere Reserve thanks to its rich biodiversity and flora. It’s no wonder Olympus was the home of the Greek gods.

The climb up to the tallest peak, Mytikas, usually begins in Litochoro. During the Olympus Adrenaline & Nature Festival, visitors had the chance to learn more about the mountain and park at the Olympus National Park Management Unit Information Center.

In 2021, Greece announced that it would be submitting a nomination file for the inclusion of Mount Olympus on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

“The goal of the festival was primarily to foster synergies that will promote Pieria and the region around Mt Olympus,” Deputy Regional Governor of Pieria Sofia Mavridou tells GTP Headlines.

“It was also a chance to give local professionals space to present their work and promote their services which range from culture and sports to alternative experiences and even conferences,” she says.

“A destination’s identity is its people. That is why the regional authority is encouraging collaborations and partnerships, creating value and distributing the rewards and benefits to the local community.”

Mavridou goes on to add that the priority of the Pieria Region is to secure tourism year round, develop experiences that create added value, and ensure inclusivity. The region, she said, was awarded gold for its Accessible Tourism Initiatives at the 2024 Tourism Awards.

Earlier this year, in collaboration with the GNTO, the region held the Pieria cherry blossoms of spring event as part of the “Flowering Routes – Lafcadio Hearn” program promoting the cherry orchards of Kolindros and Rachi accompanied by artistic, cultural, and gastronomy happenings.

“The Olympus Adrenaline & Nature Festival was a great first step and we promise it will continue,” said Mavridou.