Agia Triáda (Stavropéda) - Zagorá and back |
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Evaluation:
In about half an hour this short hike brings you to the archaeological
site of Zagorá. The location of this ancient settlement (bloom period
from 900 - 700 B.C.), on a difficult to occupy acropolis, is really
interesting. We would recommend to visit the Archaeological Museum in
Chóra beforehand – in order to get an idea of the excavations that have
taken place.
This hike gets an evaluation of **. Estimated time:
Two hours are definitely enough to make this hike (it takes about 30
minutes each way) and to walk around on the site itself.
We combined this hike with the hike Agia Triáda - monastery of
Panachrántou - Messariá.
Route description:
[The busses from Batsí to Chóra or Ormos Korthíou stop at the crossing
of Stavrópeda, where the road to Chóra and Ormos Korthíou splits up.
You have to follow the asphalt road in the direction of Ormos Korthíou
for a couple of hundred metres.
On your right-hand side you will the see a small chapel, dedicated to
Agia Triáda (the Holy Trinity) – a small concrete trail leads to this
chapel.
(0h00) For the
short walk to Zagorá, you take the concrete path that leads between
walls to the chapel (sign [7] Zagorá 1,8 km). Behind the chapel, you go
left onto concrete [7], but the trail soon becomes a regular trail
between walls. Only 50 meters further, you reach a triangular spot,
where you go right. [7] You go through a wooden gate and you continue
between walls on a slight slope (with on
the right wall a roll of barbed wire). One hut has a nice central column, a "pézos"... You continue to descend on a staircase [7] and you are now heading straight towards the acropolis until you arrive to the left of an alóni, a small ruin and a chapel – here you enjoy a beautiful view of the acropolis of Zagorá and on the islands of Sýros (left) and Giáros (with in the back Kýthnos (left) and Kéa). Panoramic view of the acropolis of Zagorá. |
(0h14) Again you go through a
gate and for quite a while, you continue to go down slightly, while
meandering a bit - and after 3 minutes, you still reach a triangular
spot where you go up to the left. [7] You climb next to some ruins and
so you get a wonderful view, to the right on the terraces and on the
steep valley to the left.
(0h24) Some 10
minutes since the chapel, you finally descend quickly to the right [7]
and you now enjoy a view of the whole extent of the acropolis, with to
the left and the right very steep rocks and gorges. You descend between
walls, then you go through a small breach to the right, in order to
follow a narrow dirt path [7] that leads up to the first wall of the
acropolis. You continue on a vague path that winds between vegetation
and arrive at a height from where you can look at the remains of the
walls. The path descends to Zagorá. These are the
modest remnants of a city from the Geometrical period, which flourished
between the 10th and the 8th centuries B.C. –
the city counted up to 4000 inhabitants. During this period the city
even sent four colonies to Chalkidikí, where they founded, amongst
others, the city of Akanthos. After the decline of this city, Paleópolis
(bloom period in the 4th and the 3rd centuries B.C.) became
the capital of Andros. If you continue a little
to the south, you will find yourselves suddenly in front of a
vertiginous chasm down to the sea - here, you can realize how well the
acropolis was protected on three sides. Straight ahead lies the
uninhabited island of Giáros, with Sýros to the left and to the right
Kéa and finally the mainland of Greece. - you continue towards
the path where you go left; you climb 5 minutes, then you veer left [7]
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