The Prosforio tower
A 14th-century Byzantine tower standing on the water.
**The last town before Mount Athos โ every boat leaves from here and every permit is stamped here** โ on Halkidiki's third leg. Beyond Ouranoupoli **ordinary Greece ends**: the **Holy Mountain** begins, a **self-governing monastic republic** of twenty monasteries, **enterable only by permit**, โ **and closed to women entirely** โ a rule more than a thousand years old. โ **The town itself is pleasant**: a long sandy beach, a small harbour, **and the Prosforio tower** โ a 14th-century Byzantine tower standing on the water, its emblem. โ **And the one thing everyone can do: the boat trip** โ a cruise along the Athos coast **showing the monasteries from the sea**, โ **which women may take as well**.
A 14th-century Byzantine tower standing on the water.
The great monasteries seen from the sea along the west coast.
Long sand facing Ammouliani island and the peninsula.
Ouranoupoli, 63075 Halkidiki, Greece
**A self-governing monastic republic more than a thousand years old โ and the prohibition is a monastic rule that became law.** โ **What it is**: **Athos** is a peninsula in Halkidiki holding **twenty monasteries** and hermitages, **a self-governing entity within Greece** with its own administration, rule and timekeeping (it uses the Julian calendar and Byzantine hours). **It is a World Heritage site** and Europe's oldest continuous monastic community โ since the 10th century. โ **The rule**: the prohibition is called the **avaton** โ **barring women** from the peninsula, **in force for over a thousand years**. โ **The traditional justification**: that the mountain is **dedicated to the Virgin Mary** alone, **and that the ascetic life requires complete seclusion** from every distraction โ the rule extending by custom to female animals in some respects. โ **Its legal status**: **the avaton is written into Greek law** and recognised in Greece's EU accession documents โ โ **it has been criticised** and its review called for more than once, **but it stands**. โ **What is open to everyone**: **the boat trip** from Ouranoupoli.
**By booking in advance through the pilgrims' office โ the quota is very small, so plan months ahead.** โ **First condition**: **men only**, above a set age (minors accompanied). โ **Step one โ the booking**: contact the **Mount Athos Pilgrims' Bureau in Thessaloniki** to fix an **entry date**; โ **the daily quota is limited**: a small number for Orthodox visitors **and a much smaller one for non-Orthodox** โ **book months ahead**, especially for summer and feast days. โ **Step two โ the monasteries**: **the permit admits you, it does not accommodate you** โ **you contact each monastery separately** to book a bed (accommodation is usually free or nominal and includes meals). โ **The standard stay is four nights**, extendable by agreement. โ **Step three โ collection**: **in Ouranoupoli on the morning of travel** from the permit office, **with your passport**, then **the boat from the harbour**. โ **What to know**: **modest dress** (long sleeves and long trousers), **photography is barred in many places**, **the timekeeping is Byzantine** and meals and services govern the day, **and walking between monasteries is long** and mountainous.
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