Vakóni - Aladinoú - Fállika - Pétrias - Vrachnoú - Chóra
Evaluation:
This is a
recent
hike, following some
trails around
Vrachnoú and
Fállika, trails which
a few years ago were often
impassable because of the
vegetation. There are some
difficult sections, but in
general, the trails and the views are great.
In addition, the
signaling with hiking signs
and trail markers [18] is excellent.
Deserves the maximum of ****.
This walk, which starts from
Vakóni and continues
through Aladinoú and Vrachnoú
to Chóra,
lasts approximately
for 3 hours (AWT); the walk
in the other direction
requires as much time...
It is therefore unlikely that
you will follow the walk
in both directions -
that is why we described
this trip in two different
hikes.
If you start from Vakóni,
you can take the bus to the
hamlet which lies just
beyond Messariá
- you will have to keep a
good look-out in order to discover the hiking sign that
announces the start of hike
[18]...
[Update by Raymond on June the 30th, 2021.]
[The
translation of this walk was
made with some help of Google translate - so, do not mind the
mistakes...]
Estimated
time: The
stretch from
Vakóni
to Aladinoú,
a walk that continues
among many sources,
lasts only a quarter of an
hour, in actual walking time.
It then takes
50
minutes (AWT)
until Pétrias,
where you cross
the walk [1]. The
long stretch to Vrachnoú requires about 1h15 and
finally, it takes another 45 minutes to reach
Chóra. The actual
walking time of this hike (8,26 km
long) thus amounts to a little
more than 3 hours
in total, but the total time
(TWT) can rise
up to the double – it will
of course depends on the
breaks for some rest and for picnic.
We walked from 10.30am
until 5.30pm, a TWT of 6 hours…
Route description: (0h00)
Walk
[18]
starts along the
road Chóra
– Batsí,
between Messariá and Pitrofós,
in the hamlet of Vakóni
and not far from the church
of Agia Triáda.
There is a very
visible sign "Aladinoú 1 km / Fállika
1,9 km / Pétrias 3 km / Livádia 8 km".
You go down
95
steps, then
you continue straight on
a small concrete road
[18] and you go down
a little further on the
concrete steps to the
LEFT (sign and
[18]) – straight ahead,
you could visit
the source of
Skadalórema...
You descend about 115
steps between
the houses, and then you keep
to the left
[18] until you reach a
second source; to the
left, you could walk to a
third source and the church
of Agia Triáda,
but you descend to the
RIGHT [18],
in the direction of the Káto
Vrýsi ("The source
from below") [18]:
so you go down 52 steps,
until that source. Later on,
an old paved trail
descends along
an irrigation gutter and
some water pipes
until you get to a shaded spot; a narrow
cemented path
[18] then continues
between and next to the
houses and a concrete staircase
goes up
to a small
asphalt road, underneath the
church of Agia Triáda
- a clear
sign + [18] points
here to the right.
(0h10)
You follow this road for a
little more than one minute, then you descend
the white steps
to the right - some
hiking signs show here the
direction of another
source, the Chamóvrysi
(signs and [18]). You
go down to the right, until you get next to a
house and descend another 90 steps, down to
the asphalt road. You go
right [18] and you thus arrive
at the bridge
of Aladinoú.
The old bridge crosses the "Megálos Potamós" ("The Great River"), which has its source on the other side of the island, near the village of Zaganiáris. Downstream, there is thus also the famous bridge of Stichioméni, where the walk [1] that leads from Messariá to the monastery of Panachrántou, passes. The river flows into the sea near Chóra, on the beach of Parapórti.
(0h16)
You pass the bridge and
you discover in front of you an old road sign and other
very visible
signs
(Fállika
1 km / Pétrias 2 km / Livádia 7 km): by following the
stairs up to the right, you could
follow the little walk
[18a] to the cave
of Aladinoú,
and possibly to the villages
of Sasá and
Kouréli - see the walk
Aladinoú -
Kouréli - Sasá -
Aladinoú.
There is also a clear
sign with the phone number of Mrs
Kaladami, which could be
your guide during the
visit of the cave (693
969 68 35).
(1h03)
Immediately after, you get to the
main trail
[1] from Messariá to the monastery. You follow it
for a short time
to the left ([1] and [18]),
but soon, in a sharp bend,
you go to the RIGHT again [18] and
you leave the route of
walk [1].
After some nice
minutes, you descend into
a small valley with
a little water;
you go up on steps and
you continue under
overhanging rocks [18].
(1h10) A little further on, you keep to the left [18]: at first, you go up, then you continue for quite some time more or less flat, next to numerous water pipes and sometimes along a high wall. You then begin a steep climb, and after again an easy stretch, you get to a ruin, where you have to climb to the RIGHT, pay attention [18]. You thus arrive alongside some other ruins and later too, when you keep to the left at a bifurcation [18], you still pass some ruins. You now follow a beautiful shaded path and so you reach the chapel of Agios Rafaël. This is perhaps the moment to take some rest, as the continuation will be difficult...
(1h25)
You start indeed a very
long and steep descent,
sometimes on loose stones, on rocks, on a subsidence.
After 6 difficult and cautious minutes,
you reach a rocky
river bed, where
you go up
again [18] -
not for long, because after a short flat stretch,
you still descend
to cross a second bed, which
is more or less at the end of
the deep valley you will discover now
on your left.
You still pass under
overhanging rocks - notice
the small stable that is
really embedded in
the rocks - and
further, there is
an obstruction made of branches.
(1h35)
You continue without problems
([18] on a wall) on
a nice trail between walls
- you are already seeing the
two chapels, a little to the left,
toward which your path
will slowly veer. The next part
is very nice and easy, with at
the end a splendid wall,
topped with stones
piled vertically. You go up
a bit and at
the top, you keep to the left
[18] - now, you will
go down straight to the
chapel of Agia Triáda.
You pass on the right side of
another, smaller chapel, and
while descending, you veer to
the right and so you get to a small
gravel road, 60-70
meters to the right of Agia
Triáda.
(1h46)
You follow this road
to the right ([18] on a small
post), but at the lowest point,
you take the "path"
that goes up to the right ([18] on a
small post and on the corner
of a wall):
it will be a hard and steep
climb, passing
on rocks and
on a rocky slope, until you arrive
after 6 minutes to the left
of a row of
cypress trees. It takes a bit
of climbing to cross some
rocky ledges, and then you go
up again. It
is only after
another 6 minutes that the
climb becomes easier
- you already enjoy
a splendid view of the valley,
with all those cypresses around
Livádia – once
arrived almost at the top, you
keep of course to the left
[18].
(1h58)
A little further, you keep to the
right and right away, you
still go up to the right!
You keep climbing and after 3-4
minutes you reach
a spot, from where the view is
amazing. A little later, you go to
the right under overhanging rocks,
and the climb becomes steeper again
[18] - a last effort.
You zigzag right and
left, then you descend into
one last side valley,
following a shady forest path:
in the bed, you turn left
on a huge flat stone [18].
You now will follow most of the time a beautiful
forest trail that continues
flat on a thick carpet of
leaves - and you enjoy a very nice
view of Chóra and
Vrachnoú.
After beautiful
minutes, you pass underneath some
nice oaks; you come to the
left of a water tank and you
go down on concrete steps,
while first you keep to the right
[18] and further to the left
(sign + [18]).
Finally, you follow a lane
to the right of the houses;
near a bifurcation,
you could go left towards
the church and a source (signs),
but you have to take a right [18].
You still go down
many concrete
steps and you thus reach
the parking lot and
at the beginning of the asphalt road.
(2h21)
You follow the road for 3
minutes, but near the
corner of a wall,
you turn left ([18]
on a small post):
you find here on the
right a beautiful trail
that descends slowly
next to a wall
- again with
a splendid view of the
Livádia cypress
forest.
You veer right
towards Chóra, the trail
alternates with a nice staircase
and goes down -
always with that beautiful view
– until you arrive next to
a chapel and get to the asphalt road.
You continue your descent on the opposite side ([18] on
a small post): after a few
minutes, you keep of course to
the right [18], you still go down and after another
110 concrete steps, you arrive
in the valley.
(2h40)
Here you come between walls
and next to cypresses:
you veer right and
left, and then you continue
straight ahead - for some moments,
your passage is blocked by
reeds. Finally, you veer
to the right and you get to a small
cemented road
next to a lot of
garden machines (hiking sign)
– this is the official end
of walk [18].
(2h44)
You follow the road to the
right and, soon
enough, you get to a larger
concrete road, next to an old
bridge; you follow the road to
the right, until you discover, to the right
of the Parapórti
tavern, the
start of the walk [3].
(2h49)
You continue straight ahead, past the
sports fields, towards
the beach of Parapórti. You
walk to the left along the beach, you cross the estuary of the small river and
you go up the steps to the square of Kaïri. By going left it will only take you
a short while to reach the church... (3h03)
Gpx-files:
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/andros-vakoni-aladinou-fallika-petrias-vrachnou-chora-124899526
https://www.routeyou.com/en/route/view/12097049/hiking-route/andros-vakoni-aladinou-fallika-petrias-vrachnou-chora