Romanians choose, in addition to exotic holidays, more and more destinations with a spiritual charge. In 2025, Mount Athos recorded a record number of visitors, almost 400,000, and Romanians occupy the first place in the list of pilgrims.
The increased interest in the Holy Mountain also comes against the backdrop of difficulties in organizing pilgrimages in Israel, due to the conflict in the area. Many believers have rerouted their trips to Greece, and travel agencies that organize pilgrimages to Athos are already fully booked for January, according to Observer News.
These days, Mount Athos is covered in a solid layer of snow, and the monks are preparing for a long winter, building shelters for birds and securing supplies.
“In the afternoon there was a bit of rain and by evening it started to snow. And in the morning we woke up to this beauty, this splendor”, said Father Pimen, a monk at Athos.
But the cold weather does not scare the pilgrims. Many Romanians choose to reach the Holy Mountain right around the winter holidays, to experience the atmosphere of Christmas and Epiphany in the monasteries. “The vast majority who made the Holy Land focused on Greece and Mount Athos”, explains Ionuţ Stoleriu, tourist guide.
Access to Mount Athos is from the port of Ouranoupoli, where pilgrims must obtain the Diamonitirion, the official entry document. It is issued by the monastic administration of Athos, costs 25 euros, is valid for three days and allows access to the monasteries, where accommodation and meals are offered free of charge, subject to availability.
“We will have to take off our shoes, take slippers because we are only allowed to enter the church with flip flops”, said Marius, a Romanian pilgrim who reached the Holy Mountain.
Life at the monastery means prayer, work and simplicity. Pilgrims can participate in services, but also in the daily activities of the monastic households. “Today we dug in the garden, everyone, the whole group. We understood that being with God in your life means not doing grade 5 or grade 7, because that’s how it goes.” said the tourist.
Although it is a place of seclusion, Athos is not completely cut off from the modern world. Some hermitages have Facebook pages, YouTube channels and podcasts, and monks communicate with believers via email or WhatsApp, even if pilgrims do not have internet access in their cells.
“People must come and return to the Holy Mountain. Of course it is difficult to get to the Holy Mountain because there are certain barriers, entry permit and so on, so that tourism is kept within limits, why? Because it is not a tourist place but a spiritual place”, transmitted Theologos, monk at Mount Athos.
