25 Beautiful Religious Towns Around the World To Add To Your Bucket List

9. Mount Athos, Greece: The Holy Mountain

Mount Athos, a monastic republic on a peninsula in northern Greece, is a place where time seems to stand still. Known as the Holy Mountain, it is home to 20 monasteries and is a center of Eastern Orthodox monasticism. Access to Mount Athos is restricted, with only male pilgrims allowed, ensuring the preservation of its spiritual purity. The monasteries, with their ancient libraries and relics, are bastions of faith and tradition. Pilgrims who journey to Mount Athos seek solitude and spiritual renewal, finding solace in the chants of monks and the tranquility of the surrounding landscape.