Apollonía - Profítis Ilías and back
Evaluation: This is a not too long and beautiful hike, that climbs the Profítis Ilías, with its 692 meters the highest peak of the island, with stunning views. The monastery is no longer inhabited, but it is still possible to spend the night - a very special experience, with as a reward a beautiful sunset and sunrise. A walk with ***.
Estimated time:
The
start
of
the walk
along
the
main
path
to
Vathý
takes
about
40
minutes and
the climbing
of the
Profítis
Ilías requires
a little over
one
hour.
The way out is 4,06 km long.
For
the
descent
we
count less
time,
so
the
return
to
Apollonia
requires
a
little bit more than one hour and a half.
The
total
actual
walking
time
(AWT) mounts up to
about 3h20
- we walked from
11am to 5pm, with a long break on top.
Route
description:
The recent hiking poles with information about the walks [7], [3] and [5] and
[6] are been found on the left side of the little square.
(0h00)
For
the hikes to the Profítis Ilías, to Vathý or Agia Marína, you take the very picturesque street to Katavatí, in between
a
bar and the
upper
square,
just opposite the Piraeus Bank. After some ten metres
this street curves to the right
([5], [6] and =)
and it continues past the beautiful churches of Stavrós and Taxiárchoon
on the right side, and of Agios Athanásios
on the left side. About five minutes later you get to the Mitrópoli, the
main church.
You then go
straight, up the long staircase, and after another five minutes you get
to the gymnásio, the secondary school. You continue up this street, you
walk on the right hand side of a curve in the asphalt road for a couple
of metres, going further towards Katavatí (sign-post).
You pass the
last pantopolío of Maria Sardi and, on the right,
the street which leads to a church with a white dome
- and here you
veer to the left. You walk
past the hotel Galíni
and continue always straight, while
you pass another
street
off the right.
You
pass another little white church
with a white dome, the Panagía Angeloktisti – there is a beautiful
sarcophagus in front of this church. The street goes further down for a
little while, but then you have to take a street off the right with a
sign-post to the Profítis Ilías
(=) – some
18
minutes after your
departure.
(0h18)
You thus follow the broad
concrete path. You pass a little concrete road on the left,
you veer to the right
and a little further
to the left, where you
pass
an earth path on the right.
The concrete path
runs in between walls,
veers to the right and after a
couple of minutes it reaches the bypass around Apollonía. You cross this road,
slightly going to the right, and there you will find the beautiful monopati with
a big sign to the Profítis Ilías and Mávro Chorió
- just opposite you find a hiking pole (for
walk [5] to Taxiárchis 40' / Panagía tou Iliou 1h20
/ Vathy 3h10 and for walk
[6] to the Profítis Ilías 1h50
and Tóso Neró
2h55.
The stretch
until the bifurcation to the Profítis Ilías is thus signposted with [5] and [6].
(0h23) You take this path, which first goes up along a marvellous paved staircase for about five minutes – you just have to ignore the little side roads. Afterwards, the trail continues rather flatly. After another 4 minutes you pass a path which goes up to the left to Agii Anárgyri (hiking picket to Agios Andréas 25' / 1,1 km).
(0h32)
You now continue straight on the main trail and after another
6
minutes -
you are already right into the magnificent interior Sífnos – you get to
the path which goes up to the right towards the Profítis Ilías. At this
point you cannot yet see the monastery on the top of the mountain (metal
sign Profítis Ilías and hiking picket
[5] Vathý 2h50 / 6,1
km and [6] Tóso Neró 2h35 / 6 km - Profítis Ilías 1h30 / 2,7 km).
[The main path goes straight to a.o. Vathý and
Agios Andréas.] (0h38)
You are here at an
altitude of 240 meters and you thus take a right. The
following climb up is quite strenuous; sometimes you walk over loose stones and
sometimes the trail consists of concrete or steps. On the left-hand side you get
a great view on Agios Eustáthios. (1h42) After
again
some 380 steps and two bends
you
reach the 692m-high-top.
The monastery looks like a fortress and inside
there is an interesting church, an impressive, vaulted dining hall and
about eight closed cells. On the 18th and 19th of
July a big festival takes place here. From the summit you have a
fantastic view on the entire island: towards the north, even further
away, you can distinguish the monastery of Agios Elefthérios; you can
also see the villages of Artemónas, Exámbela and Kástro. Towards the
other side there is Agios Eustáthios, the acropolis of Agios Andréas
and all the way to the right you can even see the bay of Vathý. This is
a great spot to have a picnic. [You
can
eat and even sleep in
the
main
dining room,
but of
course you
have to carry with you your
own
sleeping
bag and
mat.
There
is
even a
sign
that
you
can
put
coffee,
so
there is coffee,
water
and
a
little fire.
For
the
rest
you'll have to bring up everything.]
(1h42) You descend
while following at first the two bends, then
the
straight
staircase,
always
with
a
beautiful
view of
Agios
Andréas,
then
comes
the
zigzag
part.
After
32
minutes you
arrive
against the heavy wall, where
there
is
the
pretty
vague path
on your right towards
Agia
Marina
(big cairn).
You continue on the main path
and go down into
the valley:
after another 400 steps, you get next to the second hut, then the steps are
almost always paved and so you reach
the
three-forked path and
thus
the
main
path to
Apollonía.
(0h59)
After about 21 minutes
and 400 steps, you pass a kind of shelter and a bit further you can finally
catch sight of the massive monastery of the Profítis Ilías. About 6 minutes
later,
you pass a heavy wall
and a little further
there is a bifurcation: the path to the left continues to Agia Márina
and Tóso Neró. After
again almost 400 steps, you arrive near a second hut.
The stony path continues, later there are still some
steps and for the last 15 minutes you continue in a
straight line
– all the time you have a beautiful
view on the large monastery.
(2h39)
You take a left of course and the
rest
of the way is
easy and
gives
you the
opportunity
to fully
enjoy
the
beautifully
laid
out path.
You
first
climb for
4 minutes,
more
and
more
churches
and
white
domes
appear before you,
and you walk
now
5
minutes with
one
of
the most
beautiful Cycladic
views
one
could dream
of.
Finally
you
descend a
little
less than 5
minutes without
paying attention to the side
tracks,
until
you reach
the
bypass.
(2h54)
You
go to
the right,
but
just
past
the
kiosk
with
information
on
the
Natural
Area
of
European
interest,
you have to take the
path on the left (on the left of a blue gate). The
concrete path runs
next to olive trees, it
meanders left and right and
continues up until you
arrive at the main street of Katavatí, which you follow to the left. You
walk alongside the bend in the asphalt road, but you continue on the
main street. Past the
school and the main church you thus get to the square of Apollonía.
(3h18)
Gpx-files:
https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/sifnos-apollonia-profitis-ilias-43889537
https://www.routeyou.com/en/route/view/6739348/walking-route/sifnos-apollonia-profitis-ilias