Hiking in Mycenae

Ascent to Agiolias

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Hiking in Mycenae
Agiolias chapel in the mist

Mt Charvati rises above the ancient Mycenae area and together with the opposite peak Mt Sara they delimit the passage through which the Mycenaean Way headed to Prosymna.

Charvati is steep and desperately rocky and would have no interest for the Mycenaeans if it did not offer full view of the Argolic Plain. From the top, one could monitor the movement from Dervenakia to the sea and transmit rough information with visual messages to the underlying city.

Therefor, one of the Mycenaean watching towers has been located on this very summit. The remnant of the tower is accompanied today by a stone-built chapel dedicated to Prophet Elias - the chapel is known to the locals as Agiolias. The climb to this rugged peak is one of the most daring hikes one can attemt around Mycenae.

The trail starts from the entrance of the archeological site of Mycenae and initially follows the dirt road which is marked as Mycenaean Road. At a fork, follow are relevant signs and take the left branch. Open the estate door and continue on an uphill dirt road.

After an olive grove and other cultivated areas,enter the bush zone and meet a second door. The dirt road becomes very uphill and finally ends abruptly.

There, under a large red rock, begins the path, which maneuvers in a very rocky and unstabel field. Towards the end, the path reaches a natural ramp with herbaceous vegetation, where its trace is not so obvious; nevetheless, the top is now very close and all is left is a small steep step.

The view from the top gives geography lessons.

Text and photos: T. Adamakopoulos

Waymarking

Signs and marks

The route is not marked.

At the intersection with the Mycenaean Road, there is a sign indicating the road to the chapel (and the estate).
Then there are no confirmation signs. However the trail is clear and navigation can only become problematic under particularly adverse weather conditions.

Notifications

Walkability and warnings

The dirt road section obviously does not present any difficulties. Note that you will encounter two large metal doors, at the beginning and end of the farm. You should close them behind you.

The trail is as good as it could be a trail on the wild terrain of this rocky peak. It is generally clear and the only points that could be confused are in the maneuvers.

The summit area is rocky, with no flat section. The church is open, clean and relatively spacious - suitable to shelter for a while from adverse weather conditions.

Culture

Agiolias watchtower

At the summit, next to the chapel of Mt. Profitis Ilias, we can see the terrace of a building that is considered to have been one of the fire-messaging towers contructed by the Mycenaeans for the monitoring and early warning of enemy presence in the plain below.

The remains of the fortification are rather poor. Apparently the steep peak did not need artificial fortification, in fact the rocks that delimit it are effective natural walls and the access follows a specific route. On the other hand, it is certain that a large part of the stones that constituted the fort were used in the construction of the neighboring church.

topoguide Greece

A GUIDE FOR THE TRAVELING
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