Greece is definitely not the first country that comes to mind when it comes to choosing a place where you can enjoy biking. However in 2021, I decided to take my bike on a tour of the Balkan Peninsula and I managed to find some interesting places to ride there. After initial research, in 2022 I spent over a month in Athens and of course this time I also had my bike with me. The number and quality of trails at the capital of Greece definitely surprised me and I would like to introduce you to this still undiscovered but very interesting area. Athens can be an ideal destination, especially at the off season, when most of the european bike parks are closed. I invite you for a trip with me to the south of Europe.
Enduro riding in Athens – Imittos mountain (Ymitos)
I was planing to spend over a month in Athens. Before the trip, of course, I did a little research. Especially in terms of where it is best to rent an apartment, so that I will have relatively close to some trails. After browsing Trailforks page, the choice quickly fell on the area next to the Imittos mountain Range, which surrounds the city from the east. The highest peak of the range rises to over 1000 meters, and its slopes descend to sea level, so there is no shortage of elevation. According to Trailforks, there are a lot of trails scattered in different parts of the mountains. I also saw some clips recorded there by Phil Atwill (British World Cup DH rider who lives in Greece during the off-season) and the whole thing seemed very promising. So I finally found an apartment in the Liupoli district, right next to the Imittos mountains, by the metro and not far from the center of Athens. Of course, it is known that looking at the map is one thing, and the reality looks a bit different. On the spot, it turned out that Athens are huge and the distances that seemed small on the map were in fact not small at all. In addition, the city itself is not flat at all and some streets are so steep that you could forget about riding a bike without assistance. In the end, it turned out that we chose the apartment perfectly, although I usually traveled by car to the bike trails.
Enduro trails in Athens – Imittos – First ride
Knowing the real distances and elevation gains, the map of trails available on Trailforks has become even more impressive. I found on Facebook one of the agencies that rents e-bikes in Athens and I asked about the routes from which you can start exploring the place. As instructed, I left the car on one of the fireroads, which climb gently enough to make perfect uphill trails. Although at first it seemed not very interesting to me, according to the recommendations, I started with the Dasos and YoSoda trails, which are marked as green on Trailforks, and later Red Fox marked in blue. It quickly turned out that these are not very easy “green singletrails” and in our place they would be marked as blue/red. After this verification, I knew that I will not be bored here for sure. My first day of riding fell in the middle of the week and trails were generally empty. But during a short break I saw some local crew getting into the shuttle bus. So I figured I’d ask if it would be possible to join in and take advantage of the guidance by the locals.
Enduro MTB in Greece – All Mountain Adventures
It quickly turned out that it was a local company called All Mountain Adventures, that organizes shuttle asisted rides on Imittos and other bike spots. On that day, there were a few locals riding, including two DH World Cup competitors from the Propain Positive team and a couple of tourists from Germany. On the first day I didn’t plan to ride too hard, but having such an opportunity, I just couldn’t miss it. The crew took me on trails in the upper part of Imittos mountain. Using shuttle bus we rode couple of cool prepared trails and one descent a bit more in the style of enduro/freeride on a loose rocky slope. For wrap of the day we did a pretty nice jump line back in the lower part. The day was ambitious and at that time I still didn’t understand where what and how it works here, but I was very excited to get to know the place and local riders better. As far as Shuttle Bus rules go, All Mountain Adventures runs at different locations, usually on weekends and afternoons during the week. 5-6 hours of shuttling practically non-stop gives a lot of good descents. In May 2022 it cost 15 EUR per person. The team has their own instagram where they let you know where and what time they plan to shut down 2-3 days in advance. The price includes only shuttle service, but of course everyone will be happy to explain where You can find best trail.
Enduro trails in Greece – Imittos
There are plenty of trails in the Imittos range and almost everyone will find something interesting for themselves. This is not an official bikepark and all lines are created and maintained by various teams of locals. So You cannot expect that all of the trails will be in top condition, but on the other hand, in my opinion, they were really good. The terrain is dry and rocky, but most of the trails here are in the woods, which adds a bit of roots to the ride. Initially, I thought that it would be just ordinary natural paths / hiking trails, but on most trails there are really a lot of specially built berms, jumps, or other obstacles that make the ride more enjoyable. Of course, there are also plenty of such paths in the “natural enduro” style. The overall level of difficulty is moderate and you can easily find variants both for a nice and easy ride, but also for a serious ride in the style of tough downhill. There are also technical and steep lines between the rocks. The varied terrain is very well used, and if we add crazy lines created by Phil Atwil and his Positive team, there is a really full selection of different trails at your disposal. In total, I rode the Imitos 10 or more times and definitely I was not bored. I also know that I still haven’t managed to check every possible variant. From a technical point of view, there is no additional infrastructure on the trails and in the area, so all spare tubes, tools, etc. should be brought with you. In case of technical problems, there are several good shops and services in Athens. I personally recommend the Karadimas Bikes store, whose owner is also an enduro rider and competitor. Within one day he got me original parts and did a full service to bring back to life my rear shock. When going to Imittos, it is also worth remembering about a large (or very large) amount of water, because in the summer all water intakes dry up there.
Imittos – Upper part – Shuttle bus ride
Using the shuttle bus, you can go around several routes in the upper part of Imittos mountain. When you start from one of the car parks, you have at least 5 different trails to choose from right after entering the forest. For begining, you can ride the Ponstan trail, which is a very nice and fast single track with flow elements and a few rock sections. Probably the most popular trail on Imitos is “10”. It is like a bikepark DH trail. It starts with a fairly gentle section of jumps and well shaped berms. Later it leads thru steep and rocky sections. Along it, there are also variants “10 Left” and “10 Right”, which are kept in more natural way. There is another very interesting trail here, which is not marked anywhere and I do not know its name. To find it You must enter Ponstan trail and after a few turns you will see a small path to the right. It begins with interesting traverses. They lead to a valley full of big stones with a highly technical line known from Phil Atwil’s clips. From the same parking, there is another longer and more natural enduro oriented variant called Kokkinolemis. All of the mentioned routes reach the fire road, which easy leads to the asphalt road and the place where the shuttle bus picks up. In this part of the mountain, it is worth mentioning the Quarantine/Monastery trail, which starts from the other parking place, and the Boris Johnson trail, which is one of Phil Atwil’s technical lines.
Imittos enduro trails- Lower part
The lower part of the trails starts right at the entrance to the forest. These trails are shorter, and fire roads allow them to be ridden with easy uphill ride. There are plenty of variants of the descent. Trails here are not so steep as in the upper part, although some segments can also surprise You. There are a few of flowtrails with single jumps and profiled berms. The perfect place to warm up and familiarize yourself with the dry and dusty grounds of Greece. The most interesting trails in this part, in my opinion, are Dasos, YoSoda, Red Fox, Yperokenio, Untwisted… If someone wants to fly a bit on a jump line, then try the Tres-Long trail. I visited these area several times riding mostly in enduro mode and the interesting thing was that there were smaller trails or paths leading through some small city parks towards the center of Athens. This allowed for a nice ride to and from the city. While the northern part of the Imittos range is covered in forest, the southern part isnt. If someone wants to look at the Athens from above, I highly recommend a fire road ride marked on Trailforks as Athens View. The views are awesome and it’s a good option for a nice bike trip.
Enduro in Athens – Parnitha
The second most recommended DH and enduro spot within Athens is Parnitha mountain. It is located north of the city. A trip there was recommended to me by the All Mountain Adventures team, which also organizes a shuttle bus ride over there. Parnitha in terms of trails is divided into two parts. Closer to the foot of the mountain, along the asphalt serpentines, there are several DH type trails, while deeper into the range there are also several enduro-style options. An interesting fact is that a modern gondola rides next to few of trails, but as far as I know, there is no option to use it as a bike lift, because it mainly takes people to the casino, which is located above the city…
Parnitha – Enduro trip
My wife and I made the first bike trip to the Parnitha range in the form of a easy ride. But because we decided to go to the mountain top of Ornio, I was able to ride down and check the enduro trails. They are much less used than those on Imittos, but they were also specially prepared for biking. I’ve begun descent with “Top Trail” which easy winds thru the forest. Then I went down the “Sugar Trail”, which had a few steeper moments and couple of sharp turns. My last trail to try was “Big Bad Wolf”. Trails gently use the elevation with couple of short uphills on the way, but they were nice. They were no the most exciting descents possible, but I have good memories of this trip. Apparently, there were many more good trails over here before, but some time ago there was a huge fire in this area and during the removal of its effects, the trails were destroyed.
Parnitha – DH Trails
The trails in lower part of Parnitha, located along the asphalt serpentines were highly recommended by the team from the shuttle bus, but unfortunately I couldn’t get along with them. Anyway, I went there one afternoon to check trails in enduro mode. I started the exploration from the lower part of the “Roz Trail” and “Elevator”, but their lower parts were so flat that I quickly decided to move a bit higher. I tried the “Yellow Trail”, “Black Trail”, “Mourteza” and “Parnithator” and it was a pretty demanding ride. The steep rock sections werent easy. At times I would prefer that trails here to be a bit more twisted, because I didn’t have the courage to fully let go the brakes at rocky straights. But in general there was definitely no place for boredom. At lower terrain the trails became flatter, but also much faster and more jumps and gaps began to appear. Here you can nicely combine several trails into a one very long descent. I had too little time to get to know all the lines here, but after what I saw, I can safely recommend this spot, especially to those who like a tough downhill ride.
Enduro in Athens – Summary
Summing up, the trails that I managed to ride in Athens and its surroundings made a very good impression on me. I can even say that their quantity and quality definitely exceeded my expectations of riding in Greece. On the spot, it turned out that enduro MTB and DH in Greece has quite a large crowd of people with a huge passion for enduro and DH bikes. Although Imittos and Parnitha are not official bike parks, you can ride there a lot of great trails. Great option is the All Mountain Adventures shuttle bus. It allows you to enjoy many good descents efficiently and at reasonable prices. If anyone is interested in riding in Greece, it is worth watching this team because they upload a lot of materials from various trails and spots acros the country. Both Imittos and Parnitha will be also great spots for e-enduro. In addition, the warm Greek climate allows you to ride there pretty much all year round and in the vast majority of dry conditions. During our month-long visit to Athens in late May/early June, we had just 2 days with light rain. In the summer you have to take into account the temperatures will exceed 35 degrees. Personally, if I ever have the opportunity to return to this area, I will want to take my enduro bike again, or I will look for an ebike to rent in the city. I really loved time spent in Greece and I can highly recommend enduro riding in Athens.
