Travelers who single out Athens and the Aegean islands are missing out on a whole different side of Greece — an amazing array of nature experiences protected within the confines of a dozen national parks.

Based in Athens — and with decades of experience crafting the perfect vacations in Greece —Pax More can arrange a solo, couple, family or group discovery of any of Greece’s many natural wonders.

Among the unique outdoor adventures that travelers can undertake in Greece are climbing Mt Olympus to trekking the legendary Samaria Gorge on Crete.

The country boasts a dozen national parks, many of them far off the beaten path, refreshingly uncrowded and as pristine today as they were classic period of Greek civilization 2,500 years ago.

Olympus National Park wraps around its namesake peak, the nation’s highest mountain at 2,917 meters (9,570 feet). The abode of the gods in Greek legend became the country’s first national park in 1938 and was named a World Bisophere Reserve in 1999. The roundtrip hike to the summit takes around 10 hours.

The trekking is even better in Pindos National Park, located in a remote mountain range in northern Greece. The park’s thick forest provides habitats for numerous species including wildcats, wolves, river otters, golden eagles, chamois mountain goats, and the very rare Eurasian brown bear.

The Pindos range rambles westwards into Vikos–Aoös National Park, home to one of Europe’s most spectacular geological formations — the 3,000-foot-deep Vikos Gorge. Besides epic nature, the multi-day hike through the gorge includes ancient Greek Orthodox monasteries and secluded whitewashed villages that seem lost in time.

For a complete change of atmosphere and activities, Alonissos National Marine Park in the Northern Sporades Islands is Europe’s the largest protected sea area. In addition to unspoiled waters that harbor rare and endangered species like red coral and the Mediterranean monk seal, the park protects 29 small islands, most of them uninhabited.