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Mount Athos

Table of Contents: Culture and History / Travel to Mount Athos, visa requirements / Get around / Mount Athos attractions and sightseeing / City tours / Good restaurants and cheap meals / Mount Athos nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Stay safe / Get out More from Chalkidiki: Mount Athos hotels and youth hostels More from Central Macedonia: Chalkidiki souvenirs, Thessaloniki culture More from Greece: Attica tourist attractions, Central Greece tourist attractions, Central Macedonia hotels and youth hostels, Crete travel tours, Delphi hotels and youth hostels, East Macedonia culture, Epirus souvenirs, Ionian Islands souvenirs, Kalymnos souvenirs, Macedonia (Greece) travel tours, North Aegean Islands travel tours, Peloponnese tourist attractions, South Aegean Islands hotels and youth hostels, Sporades Islands travel tours, Thessaly culture, Western Thrace souvenirs, West Greece hotels and youth hostels, West Macedonia hotels and youth hostels More from Mediterranean Europe: Albania souvenirs, Balkans souvenirs, Bosnia and Herzegovina culture, Croatia tourist attractions, Cyprus culture, Greece hotels and youth hostels, Iberia culture, Italy culture, Malta culture, Monaco hotels and youth hostels, Montenegro hotels and youth hostels, Northern Cyprus tourist attractions, San Marino travel tours, Serbia travel tours, Turkey tourist attractions, Vatican City travel tours More from Europe: Alps culture, Central Europe travel tours, Danube hotels and youth hostels, Eastern Europe culture, European Union travel tours, Mediterranean Europe souvenirs, Rhine travel tours, Western Europe souvenirs More from Travel Tips 24: Africa tourist attractions, Asia hotels and youth hostels, Europe tourist attractions, North America culture, Oceania culture, South America hotels and youth hostels Popular destinations Istanbul (Marmara region ) hotels and youth hostels, Barcelona (Catalonia) tourist attractions, Rome (Lazio) tourist attractions, Singapore (Southeast Asia) travel tours, South Africa (Southern Africa) travel tours, Western Europe (Europe) tourist attractions, United Kingdom (Western Europe) travel tours, Europe (Home) culture, Vancouver (Greater Vancouver) hotels and youth hostels, Morocco (North Africa) travel tours

Mount Athos (Άγιο Όρος Ayio Oros, classically Ἅγιον Ὄρος Agion Oros) [1] is a mountain and a peninsula in Macedonia, northern Greece.

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Culture and History

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this peninsula of 390 km² houses some 1,400 monks in 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries. An autonomous state under Greek sovereignty, entry into the area is strictly controlled and only male monks are allowed to live there.

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Travel to Mount Athos, visa requirements

A fair bit of advance preparation and battling with bureaucracy is necessary to visit Mount Athos.

1. A permit (diamonitirion) is required for both individuals and groups. This is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Churches (at No 2, Zalokosta Street, in Athens, tel: 3626.894) or by the Ministry of Northern Greece, Directorate of Civil Affairs at Diikitiriou Square in Thessaloniki, tel. 031/270.092.
2. Women are not admitted into the territory.
3. Overnight stay is forbidden to under 18s.

Diamonitiria (permits to stay as a pilgrim) are issued by the offices of Mount Athos, at Ouranoupolis (on the right side of the port). In order to get their diamonitirion visitors must show their identity cards and pay the sum of €18 (Orthodox visitors) or €35 (non-Orthodox). Foreign visitors also need:Passport.

First contact the Pilgrims' Bureau (address below). They will need plenty of notice of your proposed visit - up to six months if you plan to visit during the summer months of June, July, August when the monasteries are full to over-flowing with Greek and orthodox pilgrims.

Contact:

   The Holy Executive of the Holy Mount Athos Pilgrims' Bureau 
   109 EGNATIA STR. 
   546 22, Thessaloniki, Greece
   Tel. +30 2310 252578, Fax +30 2310 222424

Once you have gained permission from The Pilgrims' Bureau you must contact each monastery where you plan to stay. Without their consent you will be turned away. A good site for further details of monasteries and how to contact each one by phone or fax is at abacus.bates.edu/~rallison/friends/friendsguide.html

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Get around

It is possible to walk from monastery to monastery. The longest walk is from Agia Anna to The Great Lavra (six to seven hours). Many of the original footpaths are still clear but from time to time it will be necessary to walk on the roads.

Buses take pilgrims from the port of Daphne to Karyes. Smaller people carriers and taxis ferry pilgrims from monastery to monastery.

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Mount Athos attractions and sightseeing

Mount Athos has twenty monasteries:

1. Great Lavra (Μεγίστη Λαύρα Megísti Lávra)
2. Vatopédi (Βατοπέδι)
3. Iviron (Ιβήρων)
4. Chilandariou (Χιλανδαρίου, or Хиландар Hilandar in Serbian)
5. Dionysiou (Διονυσίου)
6. Koutloumousiou (Κουτλουμούσι)
7. Pantokratoros (Παντοκράτορος)
8. Xiropotamou (Ξηροποτάμου)
9. Zograf (Ζωγράφου, Зограф Zograf in Bulgarian)
10. Dochiariou (Δοχειάρι)
11. Karakalou (Καρακάλλου)
12. Filotheou (Φιλοθέου)
13. Simonos Petra (Σίμωνος Πέτρα or Σιμωνόπετρα)
14. Agiou Pavlou (Αγίου Παύλου)
15. Stavronikita (Σταυρονικήτα)
16. Zenofondts (Ξενοφώντος)
17. Osiou Grigoriou (Οσίου Γρηγορίου)
18. Esphigmenou (Εσφιγμένου)
19. Agiou Panteleimonos (Αγίου Παντελεήμονος, or Ρωσικό Rossikon)
20. Konstamonitou (Κωνσταμονίτου)

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City tours

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Good restaurants and cheap meals

You will eat evening meals with the monks. The food is often extremely basic and usually vegetarian. Occasionally wine may be served.

It is a good idea to take additional supplies with you, to supplement the meagre diet. Energy bars, fruit, treats are good to take.

Some of the larger monasteries sell wine. Beer, wine, spirits etc. can be purchased in Karyes or Dahpne.

NO MEAT is allow on Mount Athos as the monks don't eat meat. As a visitor, you will be expected to respect this and not bring any meat products to the peninsula.

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Mount Athos nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.

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Stay safe

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Get out

More from Chalkidiki: Mount Athos souvenirs More from Central Macedonia: Chalkidiki tourist attractions, Thessaloniki travel tours More from Greece: Attica culture, Central Greece culture, Central Macedonia tourist attractions, Crete culture, Delphi travel tours, East Macedonia travel tours, Epirus souvenirs, Ionian Islands culture, Kalymnos souvenirs, Macedonia (Greece) tourist attractions, North Aegean Islands tourist attractions, Peloponnese hotels and youth hostels, South Aegean Islands hotels and youth hostels, Sporades Islands hotels and youth hostels, Thessaly souvenirs, Western Thrace culture, West Greece travel tours, West Macedonia tourist attractions More from Mediterranean Europe: Albania tourist attractions, Balkans souvenirs, Bosnia and Herzegovina culture, Croatia tourist attractions, Cyprus hotels and youth hostels, Greece culture, Iberia tourist attractions, Italy hotels and youth hostels, Malta hotels and youth hostels, Monaco souvenirs, Montenegro culture, Northern Cyprus tourist attractions, San Marino souvenirs, Serbia souvenirs, Turkey tourist attractions, Vatican City hotels and youth hostels More from Europe: Alps hotels and youth hostels, Central Europe hotels and youth hostels, Danube travel tours, Eastern Europe tourist attractions, European Union travel tours, Mediterranean Europe culture, Rhine souvenirs, Western Europe tourist attractions More from Travel Tips 24: Africa travel tours, Asia travel tours, Europe tourist attractions, North America souvenirs, Oceania culture, South America souvenirs Popular destinations Istanbul (Marmara region ) culture, Barcelona (Catalonia) hotels and youth hostels, Rome (Lazio) tourist attractions, Singapore (Southeast Asia) travel tours, South Africa (Southern Africa) hotels and youth hostels, Western Europe (Europe) souvenirs, United Kingdom (Western Europe) hotels and youth hostels, Europe (Home) souvenirs, Vancouver (Greater Vancouver) hotels and youth hostels, Morocco (North Africa) tourist attractions

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