Little Swallows

Activities

• Wander through the cobbled village lanes admiring the imposing stone mansions, then laze on the hotel terrace with its mountain and sea views
  
  
• Discover the area on foot: there's a fantastic hike from Pinakates across the high, beech-cloaked spine to the scattered hamlets of Tsangarada (5-6 hours, buy Cicerone's "The Mountains of Greece" for directions); and another easier one from Milies to Xourihti/Tsangarada following the old mulepath (4 hours, ask locally and follow red waymarks)
  
  
• Drive or walk down to the sheltered beaches of the Pagasitic Gulf: Kala Nera is the nearest (10km by road, 5km by lovely path), Afissos (16km by road) is popular and sandy, with watersports; tiny Lefokastro has a peaceful bay and picturesque fish restaurant
  
  
• But the beaches with the most turquoise waters are on the Aegean side - try Milopotamos, with its famous rock arch, sandy Horefto below Zagora, or the magically enclosed cove of Fakistra, a short walk from the end of the road below Tsangarada
  
  
• Visit Pelion's pretty stone-and-slate villages: Milies (6km) is touristy but worth a wander for its fabulously frescoed church, famous library and speciality cheese pies
  
  
• Vizitsa (3km) is even more popular, with its lovely restored mansions, cobbled streets and shady central square
  
  
• From the station at Milies a narrow gauge railway takes tourists on a 2-hour trip to Ano Lehonia at weekends, chugging through olive groves and over viaducts with panoramic seaviews
  
  
• You could rent a mountain bike from Kala Nera and explore the myriad forestry tracks, with the help of Anavasi's excellent 1:25,000 map
  
  
• Come in winter for gentle skiing at Agriolefkes, 1 hour's drive away: 3 lifts and 3 easy/moderate runs around 1500m in altitude
  
  
• Vibrant Volos (25km) is the traditional mezze capital of Greece - but its nightlife is thoroughly modern