Litochoro
Litochoro is a semi-mountainous town (altitude 300m, 6,697 inhabitants) in the prefecture of Pieria. The southern part of the prefecture is located, at the eastern end of Mount Olympus, 23 km from Katerinis and 92 km from from Thessaloniki. The first written mention of Litochoro occurs in the first half of the 16th centuryu century, when Saint Dionysios, a traveling companion of Saint Nicanor of Zavorda Monastery, visited the area and founded the monastery of the same name.[1] Litochoro is a popular town for those who wish to start climbing Olympus, as it is where all attempts to conquer the top of the mythical mountain begin. It has a population of approximately 7,000 inhabitants. To the northwest of Litochoros is the Holy Monastery of Agios Dionysios in Olympus.
There are five versions for three spellings of the word Litochoro (or Litotoro or Lytochoro), with the prevailing one giving the current name with iota. The mythical Litho is considered responsible for the spelling with the, while writing with u arises from the "lytos" (i.e. free) place. The latter is probably due to the milder regime of Turkish rule (compared to other areas) of the capital village of Pieria or in general to the "liberating" mentality of the locals. Additionally, the word may be derived from the Byzantine word frugal (+space), i.e. the prayer. Also, it can be a paraphrase of the word Lithochoro, that is, of the stone place, an opinion that finds the most supporters. Finally, there is the opinion that Litochoro simply means a modest place.
East of the town of Litochoro is the area Plate, known in Pieria as Plaka Litochoro. The area extends from Leptokarya to the port of Gritsa. The E75 highway (Athens-Thessaloniki national road) passes through Plaka. The beach of Plaka has a multitude of hotels, restaurants, tourist campsites and nightclubs as it is a tourist destination for many residents of the prefectures of Pieria, Thessaloniki and Larissa. In Plaka Litochoro there are also luxurious houses, estates with olive trees and tobacco.