The peninsula is the easternmost `` leg '' of the larger Halkidiki peninsula . It protrudes into the Aegean Sea for some 60 k at a width between 7 to 12 km and covers an area of 335.637 k , with the actual Mount Athos and its steep , densely forested slopes reaching up to 2033 m. The seas around the end of the peninsula can be dangerous . The peninsula , the easternmost `` leg '' of the larger Halkidiki peninsula , protrudes into the Aegean Sea for some 60 k at a width of between 7 a and covers an area of 335.637 k. The actual Mount Athos has steep , densely forested slopes reaching up to 2033 m. The surrounding seas , especially at the end of the peninsula , can be dangerous .