Eva's Hikes in Greece

Naxos

Cyclades

Naxos is the largest, highest, most fertile, and perhaps the most beautiful of the Cyclades.
Naxos is castles and towers, monasteries and byzantine churches, villages hidden in olive grooves and orchard valleys or perched up in the heights, long sandy beaches with dunes dotted with cedars, fertile plains and lofty mountains, solitary old paths, desolate backcountry and busy tourist summer resorts.
The best way to get to know Naxos is -you guessed it- to walk the isle.

My favourite routes on Naxos:

Walk I: Apiranthos-Fanari-Moni.
Combined with Walk II and Walk III, a must in Naxos.
The village of Apiranthos is the most convenient starting point to ascent to the island's third highest mountain, Fanari (883m) (highest is Zas (1004m), second highest is Koronos (997m)). On top is the church Fanariotissa. Binoculars are recommended to bring along on this peak to better enjoy the view, and plan your way down to either of the villages of Moni or Kaloksilos, in the Tragaia Plateau. The trail is not clear all the way down, but your goals are more than conspicuous. Four to five hours after you left Apiranthos you will have reached either of the villages.

Walk II: Moni - Drossiani - Rachi - Chalki.
Moni is built on a slope at the northernmost tip of Tragaia, and thus enjoys a nice view over the village-dotted verdant plateau. Moni boasts the Drossiani, a byzantine church of the 6th century, of unusual architecture. Drossiani keeps the village busy with tourists, each group of who, ring the churchbell uppon arrival! Right to the south of Drossiani a path goes down into Tragaia's olive grooves leading through the now abandoned hamlet of Rachitsa to Chalki. The path is crossed by other paths and roads now and then, but with a good sense of direction you will have reached Chalki in an hour.

Walk III: Chalki - Tsikalario - Apano Kastro - Potamia - Flerio - Mili.
Chalki itself is an interesting village to wander through. Its houses are of charachteristic architecture, their facades ornamented in neo-classical style, from a time when the village enjoyed a certain prosperity. The medieval tower of Gratsias, the tallest standing structure in the village, a living withness of the feudal system on the isle. Architecture buffs will be further thrilled by the byzantine church of Protothronos, a 10th century reconstruction of an older church, with double layers of frescoes.
Opposite Protothronos, the roads lead out of Chalki through olives trees to the village of Tsikalario. From Tsikalario a path leads up to the commanding hill of Apano Kastro (421m). The chapel Agios Panteleimon marks the spot where the trail to the hilltop begins. The Kastro is a wretched ruin. Only a few walls, mostly belonging to churches, stand out of the piles of rubble. But if you are disapointed by the ruins, the view over Tragaia, Potamia and Livadi Plains, is rewarding.
From Agios Panteleimon the track descends to the lush valley of Potamia. An all year running stream feeds its tree tranquil villages, its orchards, gardens, ducks, watermills. From the uppermost of the villages, Ano Potamia, you can continue to the north over the hill to the villages of Mili, Melanes and Kourounochori. About five hours will have elapsed from the time you had left Chalki. Fruit trees, watermills, and villages along side a stream is the scenery here. This nature-gifted valley would not have escaped the well established supervision of the feudal era. Two fortified mansions of venecian lords, those of Frangopolis and DeMari, stand out of the houses of the villages. Most tourists come to this area for the two famous 6th century BCE kouroi (ancient greek statues of young men) that lie half finished, the first, a 6m long, in a garden, the second in a quarry. (The third unfinished kouros on Naxos, a 10m long, lies in a quarry in Apolonas).

Walk IV: Filoti - Agia Marina - Zas.
From the juntion of the Filoti-Apiranthos road with the Filoti-Danakos road continue on the road to Danakos. Soon you will see a chapel on the ridge to the south, Agia Marina. Climb up south-west from the chapel and you will have conquered the Cyclades' highest peak, with no much effort, in two hours. Binoculars and and wetherproof top, recommended.

Walk V: Filoti - Agia Marina - Danakos - Fotodotis - Apeiranthos.
An easy 4 hours' walk, that will bring you through lovely counrty side, wild and mild scenery.

Walk VI: Filoti - Agia Marina - Pirgos Chimarou - Zas Cave - Filoti.
The major attraction of the area for both contemporary and past centuries travellers has been the Chimaros Tower, a five storey, round, white marble structure of the Hellenistic era, standing 15m high in the desolate wilderness of southeast Naxos. Past centuries travellers rode to the Tower on mule, while modern tourists usually drive the dirt road from Tragaia along the west and southwest flank of Mt. Zeus.
Yet, the solitude loving, determined hiker, can venture this trail-and-road loop trek, walking from dawn to dusk. It is advisable not to try this trek in mid-summer. In hunting season, beware of hunters' dogs and make sure you stay out of shooting range!

Walk VII: Damalas - Damarionas - Agii Apostoli - Akadimi - Kaloksilos - Moni.
An easy and wonderful 3 hours' walk that will acquaint you with Tragaia. Walking on dirt roads and well preserved paths, you will pass through tranquil little villages, by venetian towers, and by byzantine churches hidden in olive grooves.

En route from Moni to Kaloksilos.

Walk VIII: Damalas - Avlonitsa - Apalirou - Avlonitsa - Giroulas - Sangri.
This walk will acquaint you with the byzantine centre of Naxos, the so-called "little Mystras" -due to the numerous byzantine churches of the area-, and the byzantine era castle-and-town of Apalyrou. The town ocupied the western slope of the hill of Apalyrou, which projects about 200m above the sourounding countryside. Of the town, only piles of stones and ruble among scrub are to be traced today. The top of the hill is encircled by the fortification walls of the castle that crowns its top. Inside the walls there are only amorphous ruins. The 360 degrees' view will repay your effort climbing up, this out-of-the-world place. To the south is the Agiassos bay, where the byzantine imperial fleet used to moore. The venetian army under Marko Sanuti, landed at the same bay to conquer the island. The town-and-castle of Apalyrou fell after 40 days of besiege. Marko Sanuti, then devided the island into 56 feuds -as many as his officers- and set up the Duchy of the Aegean, with Naxos town as its headquarters.
The Agios Ioannis chapel at the archeological site of Giroulas, is a modern reconstruction of an older chapel, which was built with material of an early byzantine basilica. The basilica was built on and with material of an ionic 6th centyry BCE ancient greek temple, of Demeter, which originally stood on the site. The demolition of the old chapel was part of a greater plan by the Archeological Service, to collect the fragments of the ancient temple which were incorporated into the buildings of the area. The plan rendered enough fragments, to reconstruct the temple.
It is comparatively difficult to trace -and remain on- the trail during this walk. The "little Mystras" area is turned into fields, and you will have to climb over walls to detour dirt roads, that suddenly turn to a different direction. Furthermore a stream here and overgrown bushes there will force you to further detour. If you fail to spot Agios Ioannis Giroulas, you can start over again, beginning from Sangri.

Walk IX: Koronis - Mirissis - Abram.
Of the Naxiot villages, Koronis is highest in altitude. It is built on the eastern flanks of the Koronos mountains, which though the second highest on Naxos, are the most precipitous, harsh and almost always crowned by a nimbus. Over the ridge to the north above Koronis, this walk will take you down hundreds of steps, to the hamlet of Mirissis, which is built into a verdant valley crossed by the Mylou Perama stream. To further procceed to the bay of Abram on the north coast, pursue along the southwest side of the stream. A road will eventually lead you to Abram, some 5 hours after you left Koronis.

A Selected Annotated Bibliography Concerning Naxos:

Bent J. Th.: Aegean Islands, The Cyclades, Or Life Among Insular Greeks. London 1885. New edition by Argonaut Press, Chicago 1965.
An interesting narrative of the traveller's itineraries on the Cyclades of 1862. Naxos included.
Ellingham M., Dubin M., Jansz N., Fisher J.: Greek Islands, The Rough Guide. Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN: 1-85828-163-6.
Six pages of this guide are dedicated to Naxos. Practical information, general map and some hiking directions.
Hasselberg L.: Der Pyrgos Chimarrou auf Naxos. In: "Archeologischer Anzeiger" 1972 pp431-437 and 1978 pp364-375.
Case study of the tower of Chimaros. Debunks the widely spread misconception that the tower was a military construction (a "��" (lookout-post and signal-relay-tower)). The study, as well as the bibliography sited, point out that the tower was an agricultural establishment, an "��", as Ross described it already in 1835.
Katsouros K.A., Katsourou S.A.: Naxos, Today and Yesterday. Michalis Toumbis S.A., 1987. In two editions, greek and english.
An illustrated general tourist guide.
�� .: �� , �' �� ' �� . In the annual review "�� ", Vol.4, 1964, pp155-230.
Legends about Apano Kastro and Apalyrou castles.
Kouroupaki K., Savari El., Stathaki-Spilipoulou M., Tsamtsouri V.: Naxos, Greek Traditional Architecture. Melissa, 1981. In two editions, english or greek.
Many color and black-and-white photos, town plan, map, glossary, bibliography.
�� .: �� . In the magazine "�� ", issue number 4, 1989, pp. 11-36.
Short description of Mount Zas of Naxos, with map sketch, in p. 34.
Ross L.: Reise Auf den Griechischen Inseln. Stuttgart, 1840.
The austrian archeologist, author, professor at the University of Athens, and guide of King Otto of Greece to Greece's antiquities, gives an accurate and enchanting account of his travels to the greek islands. Naxos, which he visited in 1835, is included in the first of three volumes (Band I), pp: 38-44.
Ucke Chr.: Walking Tours on Naxos. Christof & Michael Hofbauer Verlag, first english edition 1988, ISBN: 3-923666-09-8. Original edition auf deutsch 1984.
Descriptions of 16 routes on Naxos -well balanced between easy and not-so-easy- with maps and pictures. Supplements covering the island's geology, climate, flora, fauna, castles and towers, byzantine Naxos, mythology, history, etc, are included in the post-1988 editions. An excellent compilation for the general and special interests traveller.

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