‘Frolic alone in the playground of the gods’

beaches on this jagged east coast of the Pelion peninsula (the west coast slopes gently down to the Pagasetic Gulf ), Fakistra is reached, on foot, via precipitous paths and rocky staircases, along which students once travelled to be instructed in the precepts of the Orthodox religion, kept alive by defiant clandestine monks throughout Turkish occupation.

Anyone tempted into daydreaming by the views beyond the cave’s mouth was, it seems, quickly brought back into line by the stern outline of Greece’s holy Mount Athos, looming against the distant sky. If that were not reproof enough, the existence of another cave, a few yards below, where a monk lived in ascetic solitude, ought to have administered a swift, virtual slap on the wrists.

In fact, despite the variety of adventurous activities available in the region, it is walking that provides some of the deepest connections with the majestic landscape and the richness of its history. Pelion is threaded with a network of cobbled donkey tracks (kalderimia) joining up villages both coastal and mountainous, along which all communication, travel and trade were once conducted. Now, these paths make for ideal walking holidays.

Our base was the charming Lost Unicorn Hotel in the village of Tsagarada, which is famous for its ancient plane tree, believed to be the oldest in Greece.

The hotel’s square structure is typical of the houses of the region, many still empty shells, overgrown by vegetation.

The Lost Unicorn is lushly planted with potted flowers, with creepers sprawling gloriously up its exterior walls. On the terrace, a tree’s spreading