Estimated time: The actual hike takes a little under two hours, but there is enough to see and to do to spend a full, but relaxing day.

Route description: On the platía of Apollonía you take the already familiar road to Katavati (you can have a look at the introduction of the hikes to Vathý).

We walk thus on the main lane that begins on the right, in between the Plaza bar and a pay phone. After some ten metres this road curves to the right and it continues past the beautiful churches of Stavrós and Taxiárchoon. Some five minutes later you get to the Mitrópoli, the main church. 

The little church of Stavrós, on our way to Katavatí.

You then go further up along a beautiful staircase till you reach the school, and you take a left just before the big wall of the gymnásio (about nine minutes after your departure). At first it looks as if this path goes straight towards the church of Káto Petáli, but it curves to the right behind the school – in the direction of the remains of two windmills. The path descends a little - you do not take the path on the left which leads down to the road -, and goes up again. After three more minutes you cross the asphalt road. You now walk on the left of one windmill and on the right of the other one; immediately past the second one you take a left. You now seem to walk a little too much in the direction of Káto Petáli. However, close to a kind of rubbish dump and another ruin of a windmill you follow the bend of the asphalt road for a few metres, but immediately you go right on a concrete path, behind the mill. You follow this path for about two minutes in the direction of a white dome. Then, leaving this path behind, you go right and up on a rocky path in between walls. Very soon, this trail curves all the way to the right until it gets to the beautiful white church with a couple of trees. From here onwards you can then take a trail which zigzags to the blue dome of Agios Nikólaos in the village of Exámbela, in southern direction. Some minutes later you go right, on a paved path in between white walls. A little further on you take the first street on the left, straight towards the big church – you have now left Apollonía some 20-25 minutes ago.

You pass this church (with some remarkable blue pillars) on the right hand side and you walk through the village, past some palm trees and the beautiful white church of Panagía Exámbela. You get to a staircase, and you go down a couple of steps to the right. Immediately afterwards you go left again, leaving the village behind. You continue to descend for a while on a concrete path, till you reach the remnants of a big circular tower (behind a wall) and a white church.

You DO NOT go left alongside this little church, but you follow the concrete path straight ahead, going down into the valley – in southwestern direction. After about two minutes you reach an asphalt road, which you follow to the left for some 200 metres. Just before the bend you go down on a staircase off the right, further into the valley. You cross a little concrete bridge and you continue on a sandy, later on paved path to the left, towards some palm trees. At this point the trail goes underneath a strange concrete bridge and it comes to a dead end at a field. You then take a left and you follow a narrow concrete road for a little while. When this road goes up and to the right a little further on (past a chapel and a cemetery), you can again follow the old monopáti on the right hand side. This trail goes up as well, along a flight of steps.

After some five minutes you pass a narrow path off the right; on the left you see a nice well that is covered with a stone and a water tank. From here the trail becomes beautifully paved and then again sandy. Another minute later there is a path on the right, while you have to go straight (mark the blue dot). A little further on, there is another path off the right, in between high walls. You curve to the left, though (blue and red dots), and then you take the second – not the first – path on the right (there is a blue dot), which goes straight towards the sea. You continue on this rather rocky path for about three minutes and you go right at the three-forked junction – the path on the left leads to the beautiful church of Mavroúndi.  

The beautifully situated little church of Mavroúndi.

So you take the trail which passes this church on the right hand side and which follows the hillside a little higher up. Suddenly, when you begin to descend, you will see the sparkling sea far away in southern direction, and Chryssopigí... (you have now left Exámbela for about 25 minutes).

A little further, the path gets to a trail that runs parallel to the road. You take a left, you go down to the asphalt road, you cross this road by going to the left slightly, and you then go right and upwards on a gravel road. Very soon, this road curves to the right and turns into a monopáti. A little further you take a right (there is a blue dot). The trail now meanders in between a fairly low wall on the left and a high wall on the right, for about five minutes. Very soon, you will be able to see Chryssopigí again, already much closer. You pass a path on the right and then another one on the left, still following the blue dots. After some five minutes you reach a beautiful terrace with olive trees; over there you curve to the right and you go down towards the valley (red and blue dots).

At this point, the trail clearly goes into the valley, straight towards our aim. However, we will still give you the junctions you pass along this path. For the next two minutes you go straight down towards the south until you get to some stables. At the stables you go right and then you have to descend steeply on a rocky path in between walls for about six minutes. You take a left (on the right there is a path with a lot of overgrowth) and you go further down. After one minute you curve towards the right (there are dots all the way) and then you have to go down steeply for another four minutes until you get to a gravel road at the bottom of the gorge. You have been descending quickly for about 13 minutes – fortunately you do not have to do this on a hot day in the opposite direction.

You now follow the dried up bed of the valley for another seven minutes and in this way you reach the beach of Apokoftó, on the left of the peninsula of Chryssopigí. Here, you have to follow the concrete road, on the right of tavern Chryssopigí, and some four minutes later you get to the wonderfully situated monastery.

Chryssopigí, from the path to Fáros.

The monastery itself was built in the 17^th century, but it is especially the location of this monastery, on a rock in the sea separated from the main land by a crevice, which makes this spot truly awesome.

In order to get to Fáros, you first have to walk back to Apokoftó on the concrete road. There you will find a path going up along the rocky coast; it will take you about ten minutes (note the magnificent view on Chryssopigí) to reach a chapel. The trail continues and after another ten minutes you will reach the first beach of Fáros. Ten minutes further on there is another beach with the small and very attractive little harbour of Fáros. From Fáros you can take the bus back to Apollonía or to Kamáres.

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