Greece’s Ski Resorts Welcome Record Visitors Amid Heavy Snow

Greece is among the astir mountainous countries successful Europe, with peaks ranging from 1500 to 2918 meters. Credit: Public Domain

An exceptional winter tourism play is underway successful Greece, arsenic the country’s skis resorts are filled with some snowfall and visitors owed to this winter’s favorable upwind conditions.

A grounds fig of radical person been flocking to the ski edifice of Kalavryta successful the Peloponnese, connected Mount Helmos, surpassing 15,000 a day. This is the archetypal twelvemonth the edifice has been operating aft upgrading its infrastructure with implicit 22 cardinal euros ($22.6 million), partially funded by the EU. Visitors person been coming not lone from each implicit Greece but from arsenic acold arsenic Chile and Ecuador.

“Last twelvemonth it was precise atrocious due to the fact that of the upwind conditions truthful our plans are done our adjacent investments, to secure artificial snow arsenic good ,” Alexis Agrios, Director of the Kalavryta skis halfway tells the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

Agrios adds that the extremity is to alteration the upland into an all-season, multi-thematic destination, which volition increase, not lone the fig of visitors, but besides the resort’s viability. In that sense, the edifice has already been successfully organizing assorted events, specified arsenic the Helmos upland festival and bicycle competitions.

“We are trying to reply the questions posed by quality itself,” helium says. “This year, wintertime is expected to beryllium precise bully for skis resorts, aft a truly atrocious 1 .”

People enjoying wintertime sports astatine Greek skis resort. Credit: Mike Dirhalidis CC2 1

Stream of overseas tourists visiting Parnassos, Greece’s largest skis resort

A watercourse of overseas tourists person been visiting Parnassos, Greece’s largest skis edifice considered by galore the champion successful the country.

While astir travel from Europe, Antonis Tourkohoritis, Director of the Parnassos skis resort, tells the Athens-Macedonian News Agency that galore tourists from China take to see a sojourn astatine the edifice successful their vacation plans. “The Chinese who go to Athens, see a sojourn to the archaeological tract of Delphi and the Parnassos skis resort. These days visitors surpass 5,500 a time and I deliberation we are headed to a grounds year. The snowfall play began aboriginal this twelvemonth and our edifice is 1 of the astir modern, arsenic it has 5 lifts of the latest technology.”

Parnassos Ski Center. Credit: Flickr / tripandtravelblog CC BY 2.0

Apostolos Meliopoulos, President of the Seli skis resort, Greece’s 2nd largest, connected Vermion Mountain, paints a akin picture.

“We began operating connected December 19, and each time we are full, with anyplace betwixt 2,000 to 5,000 visitors,” helium says. Less than an hr distant from Thessaloniki, Greece’s 2nd largest city, Meliopoulos says the edifice is easy accessible portion plans to utilize artificial snowfall successful the coming years, volition assistance unafraid its viability during the wintertime seasons.

“This play upwind has been precise favorable. We person a batch of overseas tourists, from Italy and Germany. We utilized to person Israelis too. This twelvemonth we person galore visitors from France who accidental they are stunned by their visit. These are chiefly tourists who sojourn Thessaloniki and past travel to Seli to bask themselves.”

According to Panayiotis Vatikiotis, who has been monitoring skis resorts crossed Greece done “Snow Report” for 28 years, presently determination are 15 operating successful the country.

“We haven’t seen specified bully and prolonged [weather] conditions successful years, arsenic skis resorts are going done a situation successful the past years owed to clime change,” helium says.

Kaimaktsalan successful cardinal Macedonia, Greece is location to the archetypal Speed Trap of the state (1,200 meters). Credit: Greek Reporter

Top skis resorts successful Greece for snowfall lovers

Greece has immoderate incredible skis resorts—some truthful unsocial that they connection you unobstructed views to the oversea portion speeding down the mountains.

Perhaps the archetypal thoughts coming to caput erstwhile you perceive the connection Greece are whitewashed villages, bluish skies, and endless pristine beaches. However, wintertime is besides portion of the calendar successful Greece, and snowfall is not uncommon.

For those funny successful wintertime sports, it volition beryllium large to larn that Greece is among the astir mountainous countries successful Europe with peaks ranging from 1,500 to 2,918 meters.

The winter season stretches from December to March, truthful instrumentality a look astatine this database of the biggest skis resorts successful the state if a skiing flight is successful your plans this winter.

Parnassos

Many see Parnassos Ski Resort the champion successful the country. It’s connected the slopes of Parnassos Mountain, and its 2 sites, Kelaria (1,750 meters) and Fterolakka (1,600 meters), connection astonishing skiing experiences for adrenaline addicts. Parnassos tin beryllium reached easy from Athens by car successful little than 2 hours.

Kalavryta

This resort is successful the Peloponnese on Mount Helmos. Here, it’s besides imaginable to take betwixt skiing, snowboarding, paragliding, and snowmobiling. Thirteen skis runs connection antithetic levels of trouble portion skiing lessons are besides available. The skiing halfway is 250 kilometers southwest of Athens.

Olympus

The Elatochori Ski Center is located connected the mountains of Pieria connected the bluish slopes of Mount Olympus. The center, which sits astatine 1,450 meters supra oversea level, has six skis trails, and it’s besides imaginable to spell snowboarding successful the Snowboard Fun Park. It’s located 300 kilometers Nnrth of Athens and 150 kilometers southbound of Thessaloniki.