Halkidiki in northern Greece, close to the city of Thessaloniki, is made up of three ‘fingers' jutting into the Aegean Sea. The western-most peninsular, Kassandra, is the busiest and the most visited, due to its proximity to Thessaloniki. Here, a good range of accommodation, from vast, modern five-star hotel complexes to basic rooms-to-let, overlook fine, white sand beaches backed by pine trees. The largest resorts, Kalithea, Pefkohori and Hanioti (all on the east coast), attract those on all-inclusive package deals. The middle peninsular, Sithonia, is considered the most beautiful, with its unspoilt fishing villages and rugged, pine-forested interior. Less developed and less crowded than Kassandra, it caters for a rather more elite brand of tourism, and offers a large sailing marina at Porto Carras. The eastern-most peninsular, Mount Athos, also known as the Holy Mountain, is a semi-independent monastic state and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its forested slopes are home to 20 monasteries and some 1,700 monks. Only men are permitted to visit Mount Athos, and they must apply for a permit in advance.