North Pelion

Makrinitsa-Lagonika-Pouri

The route Makrinitsa-Pouri via the Lagonika spring is the most northerly of the four known connections between Makrinitsa and Pouri.

The route starts from the town square of Makrinitsa (church of Agios Ioannis and memorial fountain) and climbs on cobbled paths through the settlement. With a succession of roads and paths we reach the church of Profetis Ilias, a position with an impressive, open view towards the western ends of Pelion. Opposite the church there is a large fountain with fresh water.

We continue for a while on the dirt road and after a maneuver we enter the path. After a while we come out onto another dirt road, which we leave to enter a cobblestone path. We go uphill in a chestnut forest and come out on a dirt road, which we follow until the Kaliakouda ravine (or Xerias stream), which we cross with the help of the single arch bridge of Karya, built in 1934. From the Karya bridge, we continue on the dirt road, looking for the start of the path on our left. With the path we cross the Elatorema stream, near the Elatorema spring (today it is almost dry, so we can hardly get some water) and we continue towards the open slopes of Chamorigani. With an obvious, although in some places choked by foliage and dead branches, path we progress along a large ridge that leads to the Lagonika peak. We pass close by the trigo point (1295 m.), but we don't see the pilar, because it is hidden by the dense beech trees. Shortly after the Lagonika summit, at an intersection, we leave the path that goes up to the shelter of West Pelion and go down to the stream of Lagonika. After the crossroads, we drive at the same level to a dirt road, which we soon leave to descend steeply to another dirt road, much lower. From there to the Agia Marina chapel we will walk on a dirt road. Next to the chapel there is a large water tank.
After Agia Marina, the path is broken up by a long concrete aqueduct and splitted by the alleys serving the chestnut plantations. We reach a dry water tank and continue for a while on a dirt road and enter a better path. With a succession of dirt roads and paths, in some places relatively clear. We cross or follow a paved groove and we reach a dirt road, a bit north of the chapel of Profitis Ilias.
We continue on dirt roads and with a short section of path we reach the paved streets of the village and end up on the main asphalt road in Pouri.

Text and photos: T. Adamakopoulos