Imittos is one of the three mountains “embracing” Athens together with Parnitha and Pendeli. The closest to the city center, Imittos is considered an important “lung” for the residents of Attica and an opportunity for a daily exercise and a weekend pic nic amidst pine and fir trees with kids.
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Imittos attracts many local families during religious festivities due to the numerous monasteries found on its slopes, such as the monastery Asterios, the Monastery of St. John the Theologian, Monastery of St. John the Hunterm, and the Monastery of St. John the Baptist at Kareas. The most popular is the Byzantine Monastery of Kessariani.
Behind the monastery, you can have a pic nic in the area of the association for the preservation of the Imittos forest, “Philodassiki”, or hike for half an hour to the olive grove plateau that offers marvelous views of the city, especially in the sunset.
Walk and play through the woods of Mount Imittos with kids together with MAMAKITA by submitting your request here. Your children guide will point out the plants that grow here (more than six hundred species), and give everyone the stories behind them, including the myths that have been told about certain plants to explain their names, characteristics or properties. Behind many of the herbs and flowers that your children will see, there are stories with gods, goddesses, great hunters and brave maidens. Create a family herbarium -mybe the most precious souvenir to take back home!
Included in this nature family walking tour is a visit to the Kessariani Monastery, a gem of a Byzantine place of worship and study that is decorated with impressive 16th century wall-paintings, but your kids will probably be more excited by the overall feeling of time-travel that comes with this massive old structure and its fairytale setting.
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