Kaisariani is preparing to enter the field of hiking tourism

Kaisariani is an area with a peculiarity that you do not often meet. Where there is a strong urban landscape, it stretches just above it and at a short distance there is the mountain and the green forest. And it has a strong advantage over other municipalities in the area. The direct access from the city to the mountain, with a number of paths, nature-loving, cultural, environmental, historical, but also of a religious character, as the area is dominated by the Monastery.

It is no coincidence that a large group of hikers is active in Kaisariani and at a time when walking tourism is one of the fastest growing types of tourism in Europe.

The municipal authority now aims to include the city in hiking tourism. In fact, in November it participated in the “4th Panhellenic Meeting of Trails”, the Conference held in Xanthi with the participation of cities and regions that have activated emblematic and European certified trails, such as the Menalon Trail, Epirus Trail and Pindus Trail, Andros (Andros Routes), Nestos (Nestos Rodopi Trail) and of course the Great Path of Pelion. Now Mount Hymettus is claiming its own position and in 2022 Kaisariani undertook to host the 5th Conference.

On behalf of the Municipality of Kaisariani, in Xanthi was the Deputy Mayor of Education, Tourism, Ecology and Civil Protection, Manos Kitsellis, who presented the “Hymettus Trail”, which is a network of trails created after several years of preparation. The design includes a unique signaling network of existing trails within the “Menalon Trail”, the first European certified trail in Greece. And part of the “Hymettus Trail” will be the route within the Aesthetic Forest of Kaisariani (Kaisariani Trail), which will gather most of the points of interest with Monasteries, archeological sites, precipices, “dragon houses”, climbing routes, the municipal refreshment area of Kalopoula etc..

At the same time, the municipality of Kaisariani is launching a series of informative events in the city’s schools, in order to raise students’ awareness of issues related to nature, such as that of climate change. And it will redesign the Environmental Awareness Center, which exists in the municipality and in recent years had become inactive, turning it into an Environmental Education Center.

Implementation

The president of the Walking Team of Ymittos, Manos Kitsellis, is the one who, as deputy mayor, is running the effort for the realization of the goal that his city has set. “Since 2017, there has been the thought of this tracing of paths,” he told state agency AMNA and explained: “This is how it started and then the municipality was not involved somewhere, but now the current municipal authority wants to make use of this effort for the city. We proposed it to the Ministry of Energy, it responded and a Memorandum of Cooperation was created, in which a little later the Technical University of Athens, the Association for the Protection and Development of Ymittos, and the Hellenic Boy Scout Corps joined “.

Especially regarding the Kaisariani Trail, Mr. Kitsellis states: “Kaisariani has a ready-made product. It has the wooden park at the entrance of the mountain and from there the paths start. It has the history, from the years of refuge, from the Occupation, it has the Shooting Range, it has the forest, the Monastery, it has the routes to walk and enjoy the beautiful mountain landscapes, it has its cultural points, the places to play sports , has the places to sit down to drink coffee, the taverns to eat and even enjoy the gastronomy of the area. Kaisariani has all this ready. Just think that the main road of the city, passes through all the historical points and the Monastery and goes up. So what we needed was to organize it properly, in order to attract people who love touring and walking tourism “.

Regarding whether the bicycles are included in the general scheme, the deputy mayor of Kaisariani answers: “Apart from the walkers, there are also the athletes in general, but there are also the bicycles in particular. Cyclists are an important element and we managed to reach an agreement with them and with the groups they have. In fact, we looked for the possibility of different routes. There will be different routes for walkers and bicycles, so that everyone can safely enjoy the mountain. The problem is with motocross activities because, unfortunately, damage is caused “.

Referring to the educational program, he emphasized: “There is the Environmental Awareness Center next to the Monastery, which we will turn into an Environmental Education Center. It will be fully equipped digitally. This is the first stage. The second stage will be for the children to climb the mountain, to learn the environment up close. And the third stage is its care. We will name the various paths with the names of the schools and so the students of each school will “adopt” them and will take care of them, will shape them, will plant trees and will undertake their care.”

Mr. Kitsellis concludes: “By designing the trails, people will be able to learn how to behave on the mountain. For this purpose, the SPAY (Association for the Protection and Development of Ymittos) also develops many actions.”