Beehives of Vatopedi Monastery
Tradition says that the monks have been producing exceptional honey since ancient times, as honey is an essential form of nutrition mainly in the fasting days, and is also used as an accompaniment to the tea infusions that are being offered to the innumerable pilgrims to the Monastery.
The bee populations belong to the local breed. They feed exclusively on the rich and uncontaminated Athonite flowering ground, which, due to the ideal weather conditions, provides them with abundant food, with flowering cover almost all year round. Movements are minimal and short distances, so that the bees are not inconvenienced and do not have to move to unfamiliar places. The queens are reared in our apiary with meticulous care, enjoying the warmth of peaceful nature.
In the winter the bees are rewarded with large quantities of their honey so that they can remain strong until the following spring, accepting their low, but low honey production