page_title: Litochoro
section_title: Access and transport
hierarchical_section_title: Litochoro / Access and transport
caption_attribution_description: en:Mount Olympus - the highest mountain of Greece; view from the town of Litochoro, in Olympus' roots.
context_page_description: Litochoro is a town and a former municipality in the southern part of the Pieria regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the Dio-Olympos municipality, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. It is located at the base of Mount Olympus, on the western shore of the Thermaic Gulf. The first recorded mention of Litochoro is in an account of a visit by Saint Dionysius to Mount Olympus in the 16th century. The town is a popular destination for those wishing to climb Mount Olympus as almost all climbing routes begin to the southwest of the town. A famous son of the town was Christos Kakkalos, who ascended first Mount Olympos in 1913.
context_section_description: Since the 1960s Litochoro has been served by an interchange with GR-1/E75 to its east. In the mid-1990s, parts of the Greek national road from Athens to Thessaloniki were upgraded to motorway standard. Litochoro is on the Northern stretch of this 6 lane dual carriageway, 90 km from Thessaloniki. Its nearest beach is 5 km to the east. 
  
  There is a regular bus service to Katerini and a local train service (one train approximately every two hours in each direction) to Thessaloniki and Larissa, where there is an interchange with the main line to Athens. Because Litochoro railway station is about 6 km away from Litochoro and 1 km from the nearest bus stop, people wishing to take the train often take the bus to Katerini and take the train from there. Taxis are to be found in abundance.
  Litochoro acquired some fame during the 1999 NATO war in Yugoslavia when allied naval forces arrived on the beach of Gritsa; an action which provoked a reaction by the town's people that opposed the intervention. The event was broadcast live on CNN International.
caption: View of the peaks of Mount Olympus from Litochoro.
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