VILLAGE OF KARYES

This village (Καρυές) is the administrative center of the monastic community of Mount Athos with around 130 permanent inhabitants. Here you'll find the Protaton church (the oldest on the peninsula, dating from the ^10th century and adorned with ^13th-century frescoes by painter Manuel Panselinos), a "town hall", a police station, the konaks (inns) representing the 20 monasteries, a bakery and the Athos hotel-restaurant. There are four monasteries within easy reach of Karyes. The first is Koutloumousiou, 600 m to the south. Probably founded in the ^11th century, it boasts a ^14th-century catholicon with frescoes painted in 1540. Then there are three other monasteries with harbours on the eastern coast. Probably founded in the ^11th century, Stavronikita (5.7 km east of Karyes) boasts the smallest catholicon on Athos, dating from the ^16th century and decorated by Theophanes the Cretan. The castle-like Pantocrator Monastery (6.7 km northeast of Karyes), founded in 1360, is home to precious icons, but all its frescoes were repainted in the ^17th-18th centuries. Nearby is a beautiful ^17th-century stone bridge. Finally, Iviron (6.6 km south-east of Karyes) was founded at the end of the ^10th century by Georgian monks and ranks^3rd in the Athonite hierarchy. Although it no longer has any ancient frescoes, it's well located: beautiful views, bus links to Karyes and trails through the forest to the Philotheou (1h) and Karakalou (1h30) monasteries.