Kanalon monastery

Kanalon Monastery is in a panoramic location on the south-east side of Olympus and is only 6km from Karya village. Its name derives from the four streams/canals, whose springs were near the monastery and all together formed the river Ziliana. The monastery is framed by dense woods with fir trees, stone pines and oak trees. The monastery was in ruins and its cells deserted until September 2001, when its renovation work was completed and nuns reopened its doors to the public. Inside the churchyard is the chapel of Agios Dimitrios from 1681 with beautiful murals. Its katholikon, dedicated to the Birth of the Virgin Mary, is a three-aisled dome-covered church that was rebuilt in 1883.

Karya

Karya village is cradled in a nook on Lower Olympus at an altitude of 900m and is a popular resort, due to its unique natural setting. It attracts a great number of visitors, who either stay in the area, or pass through Karya and the forests of Lower Olympus, on their way to the prefecture of Pieria and the beaches of Leptokarya. It is also the meeting point for climbers beginning their ascent to the peaks of Olympus: Metamorfosi 2,699m, Frangou t’ Aloni 2,677m and Ennea Pyrgoi 2,450m. North-east of the village there are woods with pine, fir, oak and beech trees covering 4,000 hectares.