Greece: E4 European Long Distance Trail from Kokkinopelas to Kalampaka

This is the route I took from Kokkinopelos, a village in the shadow of Mount Olympus, to the town of Kalampaka, just below the monasteries of Meteora. It tries to follow the route of the E4 European Long Distance Trail, although I lost it between Descati and Kalampaka.

From Kokkinopelos it crosses a forested mountain, then a quiet tarmac road around the mountainside to the attractive village of Livadi. Visit the bar of the Mytikas hotel for great views back to Mount Olympus. After Livadi the trail drops down to the plains, a mix of farmland and rough grassland and trees, before climbing up to the village of Saradaporos. In the valley beyond this village is an abandoned monastery, worth a visit before climbing through woodland of small oaks to the small village of Tsapournia. Climbing further takes you onto an open ridge at the top of the Amarvis mountains, before the trail plunges down a wooded valley and onto the village of Livadero (where tourists seem pretty rare).
After Livadero the trail follows a track through grassland and trees to the next mountains (the Kamvounia range) beyond which there is the town of Descati. From Descati the route follows tarmac roads and tracks through woodland to Meterora, famous for its monasteries built of pillars of rocks to ensure the monks had peace and quiet to pray and meditate on the almighty. Not so easy now with large volumes of tourists visiting.

More details on my blog johnpone4greece.blogspot.com.
The GPS trail for the next section of the E4 can be found at https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/greece-e4-european-long-distance-trail-from-meteora-to-karpenisi-37894706.

For my complete trek on the E4 read my book "Six Pairs of Boots: Spain to Cyprus on the E4 Trail" by John Pucknell available from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, the Bookdepository.com, lehmanns.de, bookspot.nl, and other good online bookstores.