Required entry to Mount Athos Chalkidiki Peninsula

As you have understood by now, Mount Athos can only be visited by men.

Let's start by giving some advice on when to visit the Sacred Mountain which is also fundamental in planning a pilgrimage because it is not a holiday or a cultural trip, coming to Mount Athos is a real pilgrimage and spiritual path.

In winter the sea is often stormy and many times the ships don't even leave. It is very cold keep in mind that you can see snow even at low altitudes, in short, the winter season is not exactly ideal as it is also very humid. The most favorable season to avoid the "crowd" is certainly from mid-April to mid-June when the temperatures are already more pleasant but there is no sweltering heat in August and note not to be underestimated, the paths to reach the monasteries are not they will be a real torture for the sun but on the contrary they will give you a nature in its full splendor with wild flowers and herbs with an intoxicating scent.

The bureaucracy to follow in order to apply for a visit is quite easy but it must be done well in advance to be sure of being able to go to the chosen period. It must be said that the number is closed, admissions are allowed for a maximum of 110 people per day, of which 100 Greeks and 10 foreigners who prove to have a religious or scientific purpose for a maximum period of 4 days. If you want to stay longer, you must ask the Authorities of Mount Athos for authorization in Karyes, the administrative seat of the Sacred Mountain and only the inhabited center.

It is necessary to book well in advance, at least six months in advance and the cost is around € 35 per day for foreigners and € 18 for students up to 27 years old. The meals and the stay in the monasteries is free but it is good to make donations in this regard.

It is very important to be in possession of the Diamonitirion certification to be admitted to Athos. There are two types of Diamonitirion, one that allows visitors to spend a night in each monastery for a maximum of three days, the other if you want to make a more important spiritual journey. The process is as follows

Call the Bureau for availability Mount Athos Piligrims' Bureau 109 Egnatia Street - Thessaloniki tel. + 302310252578 fax +302310222424 mail piligrimsbureau@c-lab.gr. It is open from 9.00 to 14.00 from Monday to Saturday.

Closed on official holidays.

After booking, send a fax with a copy of your passport.

You will then receive confirmation from the Bureau by fax or email with all the instructions such as the telephone confirmation request two weeks before arrival. In the event that for an unfortunate reason you cannot go, you must inform the Peligrims Bureau to give the possibility to transfer your place to other applicants. If you do not notify you will be put on a sort of black list and you will no longer be able to apply.

Upon your arrival you will have to go to the pilgrims office open from 8 to 14 to collect the Diamonitirion.

If you are not just pilgrims but belong to sacred orders of any religion, you must have written permission from His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch in Turkey.

Reaching Mount Athos is very simple, the ferries depart from Ouranopolis from 9.45 am which stops on the western part and stops at Dafni the main port. There is also a ferry that arrives direct to Dafni at 6.00 in the morning. From Thessaloniki from Halikidi Station tel +302310316555 a bus leaves every two to Ouranopolis (the first is at 5.30 am). If you want to visit the monasteries of the east coast there is a ferry that leaves from Ierisos at 8.35 am.

A fantastic experience and I say it with a hint of envy, I would have loved to have been able to discover these precious pearls that Greece offers but as a woman I had to settle for a visit by boat strictly five hundred meters from the shore.