Hymettos Ascent

Road bike ascent.Athens sits in a basin surrounded by the sea and four mountains.  To the east is Mt. Hymettos, a region with pine, cypress, olive and eucalyptus trees, herbs and wild flowers, caves, rabbits & tortoises, botanical paths, off road bike trails, picnic areas and Byzantine churches. 

In the 15th or 16th century, French visitors called Hymettos Mountain “tres longue” meaning “very long” in French, as it is 1025 meters (3366 feet) high at its apex.  The locals thought they were saying Trellos which in Greek means “crazy.”  Today Mt. Hymettos is affectionately known as Trellovouna, or “crazy mountain.”

The view from the top is wondrous as it looks out over the entire Attica region below and beyond to the sea with Salamina island on the south side and the airport on the north side.  The ride is fairly steep, no turns, on a scarcely trafficked asphalt road.  On weekends, Athenians can be seen hiking, running, mountain biking and road cycling.

The ride down is a swift 45 minutes thrilling descent broken up by a stop for sandwiches and beverages at Kalopoula cafe and a short hike to a lovely Byzantine church.