Alli Meria – Agria

We start from the settlement of Alli Meria, using a pedestrian bridge and the asphalt road for a short time. After a short section on cobbled path, we pass next to the cemetery of Alli Meria (on the right hand) and the church of Archagels (on the left). We continue uphill on the concrete alley through livestock farms and olive groves. Gradually, we gain stunning view to Volos and to the port of Agria. We should also notice the nice overlay of the rich and Mediterranean flora on the distant seascape.

We continue on a dirt road, surrounded by low vegetation. After we go through a seasonal stream and pass by a large trough with fresh water, we arrive at an obvious ridge. Then, we enter the basin of Anemousta, an uninhabited rural settlement of Agria.

It is worth noticing the old but well-preserved church of Timios Stavros (Holy Cross) and Agios Ioannis.

From this point, we start going downhill on a clearly defined trail which crosses a large olive grove. We continue across the main dirt road and just before the very small chapel of Panagia, we need to find a faint alley on our right hand side. This alley takes us through another olive grove and finally to the church of Taxiarches, located in a deep ravine. This is a marvelous location with dense vegetation and natural springs. The church used to be the katholikon on an abandoned monastery. Today, only two ruined buildings of the monastery are still visible, as well as a beautiful fountain.

The well marked trail takes us inside a dense forest passage until we gain some elevation and reach the western slope of the ravine. This section has some difficult parts to cross but it is in general passable.

Our hike continues on alleys and finally goes down to a rocky slope. When we find ourselves in a large olive grove, we follow another alley and then a cement road which guides us through more olive trees. Later on, we pass next to the school of Agria and we take the Porfirogenis street in order to end on the beach, next to the townhall.

All along our route we can see red marks on the rocks and dry-stone walls.

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