All year

Double room €170-270 per night (breakfast and dinner included)

En-suite bathroom (bath or shower)
Telephone
Internet (extra charge)
Television
Mini-bar
Hairdryer
Safe

Several sitting rooms with fireplace
Outdoor swimming pool
Health centre with sauna and gym
Conference centre for up to 300 persons
Playroom with billiard and table tennis
Playroom for children

The guesthouse sits at the top of Pertouli, a tiny, peaceful village in a splendid location of densely forested mountain slopes and sparkling white mountain tops. It all feels very alpine.

The 360 km drive from Athens takes at least four hours. Try and do the drive during daytime. Especially the last 30 km road stretch is so beautiful (it takes you through a gorge where you drive along to the river), that it would be a pity not to be able to see the scenery. From Athens the fastest way is via Lamia, Karditsa and Trikala – from Trikala you follow signs for Elati and Pertouli. There is a sign for the hotel at the entrance of the village.

There are two very good reasons to spend a few days in this province in the heart of Greece: one is to visit the monasteries of the Meteora and the other is to enjoy some of Greece’s most glorious nature and mountains.

The Meteora are a group of incredible rock formations with centuries-old monasteries perched on top. While the first hermits ‘settled’ in caves high up on (in) the rocks somewhere around the 11th century, the oldest monasteries date from the 14th century. Two centuries later over twenty monasteries had been constructed on top of the Meteora, but today, only four monasteries and two convents are still working. If you have the time (a full day is good, two days are better), I recommend you try and visit as many as you can. You no longer need to go up using net and rope ladders as in the old days, instead you can drive up part of the way and continue on foot via suspension bridges, footpaths and steps carved into the rocks. Ladies should be aware of the dress-code: no bare shoulders or trousers. Most monasteries let you borrow totally unflattering skirts you can wear over your shorts or trousers, but a pareo will do the job as well – I always carry one with me.

The eastern half of the province of Trikala is covered by mountains belonging to the southern Pindos range. The area is absolutely beautiful, with densely forested mountain slopes, sparkling snow-white peaks (many over 2000 metres high), fast streaming rivers, gorges and waterfalls. There are some gorgeous traditional villages: Elati and Pertouli are the most well known (largely thanks to the nearby 3-lift ski centre!), and others that are worth a stop as well, especially Gardiki and Krania. And if you haven’t had your fix at the Meteora, there are several beautiful monasteries scattered around the mountains, some in quite spectacular locations as well.

Thankfully, the ski ‘resort’ of Pertouli is too tiny to attract the masses, but the whole area is great for hiking and all sorts of adventure sports. You will see the signs for river canoe and kayak as well as white water rafting, and there are also some companies that organise rock climbing, notably at the Meteora. I am not at all into climbing sports myself, but I can imagine that if you are, it must be an amazing experience.