Halkidiki is not an ordinary tourist destination. It combines the mountain with sea, the permanent residents with the seasonal workers, the farm work with the tourist businesses. Those who live in the inland, in mountainous Halkidiki, keep on doing what they’ve been doing for thousands of years, making local products, working the land or keeping livestock.
The traditional village of Arnaia is famous for its honey, mount Cholomondas for its tea, mushrooms and dairy. A bit to the south, at the coastal area, the fishermen’s boats are not a tourist attraction, here the people live from the sea and sell their fish all year round, to make a living. A traveller to Halkidiki needs to seek and enjoy the pure products that come from the land.
Tea and herbs
When one hears the word Halkidiki they immediately think of its two legs with the countless beaches and the exotic waters. But, mountainous Halkidiki too has a lot to offer as it is a beautiful place with an abundance of traditional villages and extremely beautiful natural landscapes. The central and eastern side is dominated by the mountain Cholomondas, and a big part of it belongs to the Natura 2000 network. The mountain has been providing the locals for years with its beneficial herbs and its renowned mountain tea (also known as sidetitis or ironwort). The family business “Holomon” owns quite a few acres with organic crops, and it packages tea, oregano, chamomile, sage, tilia (also known as linden).
Taxiarchis, Halkidiki, tel. 2371094394, holomon.gr
Truffles and wild mushrooms
In a beech and oak forest, on the second summit of mount Cholomondas, between the villages Arnaia and Taxiarchis you’ll find the workshop “Dasokipos” (which means forest garden in Greek). It’s a location where the microclimate benefits the growth of good quality truffle, this rare and prized mushroom. At Dasokipos you’ll also find fresh truffles from the mountains of Halkidiki, and a wide variety of mushroom-based products: scented oil, butter, fleur de sal, sauces and pastes.
9th km N. R. N. Taxiarchis – Arnaia, Halkidiki, tel. 2371024742, www.dasokipos.gr
Feta darling
Small family businesses, many with their own herds, produce pure and tasty dairy products, mainly on the mountainous area of Halkidiki. Try the “Valma” feta which you can even find in many supermarkets and restaurants, the feta and the goat’s cheese “Karagianni” and the “Kalandaridi” feta from fresh pasteurised sheep and goat’s milk from Halkidiki. The “Stathori” dairy gets its milk from the northern Halkidiki pastures and they use the fresh goat’s milk to make a tasty graviera cheese and “petroto” that resembles anthotyro.
”Valma”, Paleochora, tel. 2371061326 / “Karagiannis”, Arnaia, tel. 2372022443 / “Kalandridis”, Simandra, tel. 2373061300 / “Stathori” Dairy, Ierissos, tel. 2377022603.
Green olives PDO
Together with the olive oil they are the only Protected Designation of Origin products in the municipality, and only these particular olives that are produced within the geographical area of Halkidiki can be named Halkidiki Green Olives. They have a light, fruity scent, are meaty and large in size. They amount to 33% of the overall production of table olives in Greece, because they are in great demand: large and tasty they go perfectly with a glass of tsipouro (traditional pomace raki). Try the ones that are picked one by one at the monastery in Ormylia village and are packaged by “Lamda Foods” under the brand “Ormylia”, and the “Imperial Olives” that have received distinctions in competitions, as well as the “Kapa Olive Farm” olives that include organic olives. Because the olives of Halkidiki are so big they are often stuffed. Seek out the almond and pepper stuffed ones of the “Sithonia Olives” company.
“Lamda Foods”, tel. 2382025644, lamdafoods.gr / “Imperial Olives”, 6th km N. R. N. Moudania – Sithonia, N. Olynthos, tel. 2373771882, imperialolives.gr / “Kapa Olive Farm”, Olynthos, 2373091418, kapaolivefarm.gr / “Sithonia Olives”, Ormylia, tel. 2371054113, sithoniaolives.gr
Certified olive oil
One fourth of the farmland in Halkidiki is covered in olive groves. The Halkidiki olive oil may not be as well-known as the Kalamata one, but it has special characteristics and an exceptional taste and that’s why it is a Protected Designation of Origin product. The same varieties that produce the Halkidiki green olives make the fine Halkidiki Agoureleo (early harvest oil) that is ideal to be used raw in salads and over vegetables, due to its intense herbal aromas and its slightly bitter taste. The company “Stater” is the first one to bottle early harvest oil in the area of Halkidiki and contributed to it being declared as PDO, and their early harvest oil is one of the best in Greece.
“Stater”, tel. 2107258394, stater.com.gr
Wine roads
One of the largest organic vineyards in Europe (Porto Carras Domaine), small cute wineries in the mountainous region, bigger ones by the sea, and wine produced in monasteries comprise the rich winemaking tradition of Halkidiki. The whole region produces large amounts of wine of various varieties, and so one of the wine routes is dedicated to Halkidiki after an initiative of the Wine Makers of North Greece (winemakersofnorthgreece.gr). The “Wine Roads” are wine routes that include wineries open to the public and are their proposal for wine tourism. The Halkidiki wine route starts at Agios Pavlos, near Nea Kallikratia, where the Tsantali Winery & Vineyard is located, goes down to the sea at the second leg, at Neos Marmaras and the Porto Carras Domaine, and then heads back up to Arnaia and the Claudia Papagianni Domaine, and the village Marathoussa for the Livadioti Estate. There are also two wineries on Mount Athos, but the rules of Mount Athos apply for visiting, so women are not allowed to visit.
“Tsantali Vineyard”, Agios Pavlos, tel. 2399076100, tsantali.gr / “Porto Carras Domaine”, Neos Marmaras, tel. 2375077000, portocarras.com / Claudia Papagianni Domaine, Arnaia, tel. 2372021190, cp-domaine.gr / “Livadioti Estate”, Marathoussa, tel. 2371095455, ktima-livadioti.com
Sweet as honey
More than 30% of the overall honey production in Greece comes from Halkidiki. The verdant landscape, the sea breeze and the experience passed down from one generation to the next result in honey that is of very good quality and tastes really good. The whole of Kassandra, Nikiti in Sithonia and Arnaia, in mountainous Halkidiki, are the main honey production areas. You can find honey from local producers in almost every grocery store and supermarket in the area, and even on the street. Seek out the honey “Sithon” by the “Agricultural Beekeeping Cooperative”, the “Passion Forest Honey” organic wild oak honey and the “Georgaka” honey that has received many awards, especially for its pine honey.
“Agricultural Beekeeping Cooperative of Nikiti”, Sithonia ave., Nikiti tel. 2375022887, honeysithon.gr / “Passion Forest Honey”, Taxiarchis tel. 6949799554, passionhoney.gr “Georgaka Honey”, Central Square of Arnaia, tel. 2372022807, honeygeorgaka.com
All the goods from Mount Athos
One of the ways the monks procure funds for their monasteries is through the products they make. You will find herbs, tea, honey and other products all around Halkidiki but mainly in Ouranoupolis, the border before the monasteries of Mount Athos. The Mylopotamos Winery in Metochi, Mount Athos, makes fine wines that you can find at select wine and liquor stores.
Metochi, Mylopotamos, Mount Athos, tel. 2310 522211, mywines.gr
