Apollonía - Vathý via the Kalamítsi-well

Evaluation: This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful hikes on the island of Sífnos. You will discover the untouched interior of the island, and the absolute silence, and there will be some great panoramic views on the coastline. At the end you will find the beach of Vathý, where you can have a swim or drink something in one of the taverns. We give this hike an evaluation of ***.

Estimated time: The best thing to do is to leave early, especially in Summer. If you also take the three-hour detour via the Profítis Ilías, you definitely have to depart at 8-9 o’clock in the morning. The hike from Apollonía to Vathý (without the Profítis Ilías) takes about four hours, but it is nice to also have some time left on the beach.
From Vathý you can take the bus back to Apollonía (the bus departs a little inland; take one of the little roads leading inland from the beach). Do not forget to note down the bus schedule before leaving from Kamáres!

Route description: The bus from Kamáres stops on the Platia Iroöon (the Square of Heroes), where you can relax for a while on a bench in the shade. On this square you will find the museum of folklore (closed on Sunday mornings), the war monument and the post office. The pedestrian street to Katavatí begins on the right of the square, in between the bar I Gonía and a pay phone. The pedestrian street to Artemónas begins in between the little store To Flaráki (next to the newspaper shop) and the bar Lákis.

Two hikes by themselves are to walk up and down from Apollonía to Katavatí and to Artemónas, while enjoying all of the beautiful churches and all of the picturesque spots. But in fact, you can as well explore these streets on the hikes from Apollonía to Vathý and to the Agios Simeoón.

So, for the trail to Agios Nikólaos T' Aeriná and Vathý you take the very picturesque street to Katavatí, in between the bar I Gonía and a pay phone. After some ten metres this street curves to the right and it continues past the beautiful churches of Stavrós and Taxiárchoon. 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). On the right you pass the street which leads to a church with a white dome and you walk past the hotel Galíni. You continue to go up slightly (you pass another path off the right) until you have passed 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 fifteen minutes after your departure.

You then follow the broad concrete path. You pass a little concrete road on the left, an earth path again on the left, and a little further another earth path on the right. The trail then turns into a typical donkey path. It runs in between walls 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 the Profítis Ilías and Mávro Chorió. It has now been almost 20 minutes since you have left Apollonía.

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 ten minutes you pass a path which goes up to the left to Agii Anárgyri, and after some fifteen 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.

[If you first want to climb all the way to this 681-metres high top, you will have to go up steeply along a zigzag trail. The monastery looks like a fortress and inside you will find an interesting church and an impressive dining hall. On the 18^th and the 19^th of July there is always a great festival on this location. From the summit you have a great panoramic view over the whole of the island.
It is possible to combine this hike to the Profítis Ilías (to go all the way up and back down you have to count about three hours) with the hike to Vathý. However, when the weather is really hot it makes much more sense to do this on a separate day. On the way back you can then also visit Agii Anárgyri - from there you have to go back the way you came, though. You can also continue a little further and then take the path to Agios Andréas – see further.]

If you do not want to visit the Profítis Ilías, you go straight, towards the left, and the path then continues through a small gorge. After some three-four minutes you get to a kind of rocky plateau – in front of you you will see the corner of a wall. On the opposite hill you can distinguish the beautiful church of Agios Eustáthios. 

[At this point there is a path off the left towards the south; this is an opportunity to visit the interesting site of Agios Andréas and to return to Apollonía – in this way you get to the hike Apollonía - Agios Andréas .]

In order to go to Vathý, though, you have to follow the main path to the right. You keep thus to the right hand side of the wall and you go up slightly (you will find a sign and there is also an old indication for this hike: a red cross in a square with dotted lines). The trail is still very clear, it curves to the right, following the valley and very soon you will see some ruins and also the beautiful old church of Taxiárchis tis Skáfis in front of you.

Before the church you pass a little road off the left.  You then walk on the right hand side of a palm tree and you cannot help thinking: “Where does this tree come from?”. A staircase on the right leads towards the monastery. This is a very pleasant place to have some rest: the door is often open, there are some wall paintings behind the ikonóstasis, and there is a strong smell of incense.

The actual monopáti runs underneath the monastery and during the next 20 minutes it goes up gradually, sometimes like a staircase. Often, the path is narrow, in between a wall on the left and the rock on the right – in Summer time this is really a very hot spot! After some eight minutes you descend for a little while into a green valley, on the right hand side you have a nice view on the Profítis Ilías and the monastery. A little further, though, the trail goes up again steeply. Twenty minutes after Taxiárchis you will thus get to a platform with a lot of bushes. Just before this platform there is even some shade underneath a couple of trees – you better take advantage of this!

Immediately after you get to the end of the wall and on the open platform, there is a junction: you DO NOT take the broad path straight ahead, but you go left, more or less along a wall (there are blue dots). After some three minutes there is another junction and at this point you have to watch out: you can take a left, and this is described in the alternative hike to Vathý via Agios Nikólaos T' Aeriná - also one of the hikes to Agios Andréas follows this route. 

Today, though, you have to go right (do not mind the almost disappeared arrows to the left), in the direction of the sea. Some five minutes later you will clearly see the sea in front of you; you will also distinguish a cape and a little rocky island. On the right there is the base of an old tower. The trail now curves to the left, with Mílos and Kímolos in front of us, it then clearly runs on the left hand side of a wall, and after some 6-7 minutes it passes a chapel with a flat roof and a little white arch. On the staircase to the chapel you take the path on the left hand side of the wall. You continue to go down, sometimes in between walls and sometimes in between bushes; the trail is sandy, but easy to distinguish.

After another 15 minutes you reach a three-forked junction: you take the path on the right, on the right hand side of a tree. The path now descends all the way; it is rocky and it runs in between high walls. Further on there are more bushes (there are blue dots as well), and after ten minutes the trail curves towards the left – at this point you pass another vague path off the right, on the left hand side of a field surrounded by a wall.

A little further on you pass another path off the right (there is also a blue arrow that points to the left) and now you walk again next to a wall. You go down into a first gorge, you go up again (you will see two little houses on the hill on the right) and you then descend steeply into a second gorge, the Kalamítsi-valley. This is a deep gorge with a lot of terraces. After you have passed the bottom of the gorge, on a spot with a lot of boulders, you will find the only well on this long hike – maybe you did already hear the splashing water before you got here.

You climb up, leaving the Kalamítsi-valley behind (on the right you pass a vague path alongside a wall). You continue to go up; down on the right you will first see a little beach, then, halfway the slope, there is a white house, and finally you will see a kind of pointed rock over the valley. Ten minutes further on, near this rock, you will again get to the main path, indicated by means of dark red signs (this is the path you could have followed if you had taken a left above).