Chóra - Apíkia - Katakaléï - Vourkotí and back |
|||
Evaluation:
Again, this is one of the most beautiful hikes on the island of Andros,
because of the marvellous trail between Chóra and Apíkia, the wonderful
kalderími between Katakaléï and Vourkotí, the great location of Vourkotí
and the fantastic views along the way.
Therefore, this hike
gets a maximum evaluation of ****. Estimated time:
The hike till Apíkia takes 1h10 and then it takes about 1h25 actual
hiking time to get to Vourkotí
- the total distance of this hike is about 6,81 km, only for the way
there.
Route description:
(0h00) For all hikes leaving from Chóra you have to depart from
the main street near the large church of the Panagía tis Kímisis, which
is visible from all over town (for more details you might have a look at
the description of the short hike in Chóra itself). For the hikes in the
direction of Apíkia and Vourkotí you have to follow the main street
inland for a short while (to the right when facing the church). You then
have to take the first street off the right, the Odós Stamátis Empiríkou.
Via a staircase of about 50 steps you thus descend until you get to a
promenade with a couple of restaurants; you veer to the left and then
you take a right to cross the bridge over
the mouth of a small river, where the Nimborió-quarter begins.
On the parking lot over the bridge, on the right side, there is an
information board of Andros Routes – and
you follow the asphalt road for 1 more minute, to the left of
the palm trees.
(0h07)
After
1 minute you take a left
and you walk on
the wide white
stairs (walking
sign to Apíkia 3,2 km
/ Bistis tower 5 km / Katakaléï 4,9 km / Vourkotí
7,1 km + [2]). The hiking sign at the beginning of walk [2]. Then you continue straight ahead on the concrete ramp and follow the street [2], until you arrive at a cross street, where you go to the right (signpost to Vourkotí 2 1/2 hours + [2]). Almost immediately a beautiful staircase begins along a wall [2]. A look back, on the beautiful path from Chóra to Apíkia. Later on, the
really beautiful trail is sometimes 3-4 metres large and it climbs
gradually above Chóra and the sea, for about 9 minutes.
You then get to a
concrete road and you follow it, while describing a curve to the left
[2]. Panoramic view on Chóra.
(0h20) Two
minutes later this road becomes again a very nice trail: you climb
slowly and then, a small asphalt road goes off the right, but you follow
the ancient staircase going up on the left [2].
You continue on a large staircase, overgrown with flowers in Spring.
Some 4 minutes
later this staircase crosses an asphalt road - on the left you can see a
commemoration plate from 1907 for the "great patriot" Alkibiádis
Empiríkos, “because he created a road from the town to there”.
In Spring, a lot of flowers cover the path... (0h28)
After these 120 steps, you
already have a great panoramic view on Chóra, but you have to continue
climbing up on the staircase [2]; after another 2 minutes and about 150
steps, you pass an (open) chapel with a terrace and stone benches, you
cross the asphalt road to Ménitzq and you continue, via a newly
constructed staircase (hiking sign Apíkia 1,7 km / Vourkotí 5,6 km +
[2]). You continue going up, towards the hill crest. From here onwards
you can really admire the walls, built in a typical Andriotic way:
these walls are made out of regular stones alternated with large, flat
schist-plates; this method of construction was probably used to save
building materials and time, but it also resulted in a very aesthetic
unity. Have also a look at the construction of the trail itself – with
the foundation stones piled up vertically! The typical walls on Andros. The nice pavement of the path. The side of the monopáti. After another 8-9
minutes, the stone pavement of the trail has basically disappeared – it
is quite likely that the stones have been used to build the walls in the
neighbourhood. View on Apíkia.
The shadowed path, just before you reach the bridge
underneath Apíkia. The bridge near Apíkia. You now proceed on
a paved staircase and a concrete ramp, you cross an asphalt road and you
continue on the other side on a concrete staircase [2]. A little further
the trail splits up – straight ahead (on the right of the blue iron
gate) hike [8] continues to Steniés and the beach of Giália (hiking signs). [Here, you could
continue to the left to the waterfalls of Pithára (hiking sign
"Waterfalls" + [2a]) - see the walk Chóra - Apíkia - Pithára and back.]
(1h10)
You go right
for a short while (hiking sign + [2]), with the big hotel Pigí Sáriza in
front of you, and on the left-hand side of the hotel you go up the
shining white staircase (hiking sign Vourkotí 3,9 km + [2]) until you
see the famous Sáriza-well on the left in front of you. One still can
read the date 1787. The water of this well is famous and it is bottled
in a small factory a little further down in the village – in 2019, this
factory was closed…
The Sáriza-well in Apíkia. (1h11)
Today, you
continue straight ahead on hike [2]: you thus go further upward on the
large, white staircase, but at a kind of little tower (with also the
school on the right and some 50 m further on the church) you DO NOT
proceed towards the church. Instead, you keep to the left [2] and later
on you keep again to the left [2]; in this way you go up all the time on
the concrete staircase.
(1h17) One
minute later on, after 46 steps, at a large concrete block and to the
left of a small concrete bridge, you have to watch out again: you DO NOT
continue to the left, but you go straight ahead on a paved trail [2] –
you can also see a worn away red dot.
At first the path
continues horizontally, then through a gate, but quite soon you reach a
nice, old staircase, which climbs up until between two water tanks. |
(1h38)
After 6 minutes you
get a great view on Apíkia with the monastery of Agia Marína above. You
keep going up and further on, the view gets even grander, so that you
also begin to see the town of Chóra and the Panachrántou-monastery.
(1h41)
About half an hour after your departure from Apíkia and after a splendid
ascent of 9 minutes, you reach a flat part between walls – you are now
on a kind of balcony with a truly magnificent view on the entire coast
line. To the left and above, you can see Katakaléï – pay attention, you
have to follow the left wall [2]. A little bridge just before Katakaléï.
(1h47) Here, you
go 5 meters to the right, but then you climb the cemented path with some
steps on the left; near the small bridge, you
climb the stairs to the right (hiking sign Vourkotí 2,2 km), but near
the garages you go to the left, then, quite soon, you go up the stairs
to the right [2].
As soon as possible
you leave the junk and the ugly buildings of Katakaleï behind you! The path on your way to Vourkotí. (2h06) On the crest of the hill, you veer at first to the left and you continue for 3 minutes more or less flatly to the left of a wall [2]; then appears Vourkotí, situated midst the green terraces.
Panoramic view of the terraces near Vourkotí. You descend a
rocky staircase until you reach a gravel road, which you follow going
down on the right (hiking sign [2]). After another 5 minutes you get to
the asphalt road which you follow to the left (hiking sign and [2]). The little inner court of the former school of Vourkotí. If you continue straight ahead, you veer to the right [2] and get to the second bridge - with a well and lots of streaming water; you pass also underneath the deserted kafeníon (from far away you could already distinguish the large letters KAFENEION, painted on the outer wall!). Through the windows you can still see the tables and the chairs and even a jukebox. The deserted kafeníon in Vourkotí. Immediately
thereafter you get to a junction (hiking sign [2] and [6]. [If you take a
right at this junction, you can follow a small street [6] leading to the
beginning of the hike to Agios Nikólaos and the beach of Achla – see the
hike Vourkotí-Agios Nikólaos-Apíkia-Chóra.] The staircase
straight ahead goes up alongside a beautiful gutter with water ([2] and
[6]); it continues through the village: after 75 concrete steps, there
is a white staircase that veers to the left [2] [6] and after another
190 steps, you get to the asphalt road (signs
Agios Nikólaos 5,1 km
/ Achla 9,4 km and [2] Katakaléï 2,1 km / Apíkia 3,8 km / Chóra 7,1 km).
Just opposite you see the
"exochikó kéntro" (restaurant) O Vráchos. To the left of it begins the
long hike [12] that would bring you to Arní, Katákilos and Batsí, all
the way on the other side of the island – see the hike Vourkotí-Batsí. - from the
“centre” (consisting of only ten houses) of Vourkotí it takes about 3
minutes to walk back to the bridge, on the other side of the bridge you
keep to the left [2]. Past the gate, you keep to the right [2] and climb
the nice staircase that becomes a path
Hiking signs near Vourkotí... - you stay on the
gravel road for 5 minutes and just past the curve to the right your
trail goes sharply to the left (sign and [2]) The kalderími descending to Katakaléï. - you go through
an iron gate and then you proceed on the great meandering kalderími for
many minutes, till you get to the junk of Katakaléï.
After the staircase, you
come to the right of the garages on a small parking lot: you go down the
stairs to the right [2], but before the small bridge you go down the
stepped path to the left [2]. Down, on the little
road, you go 5 meters to the right, then you go down to the left [2] -
and so you begin the magnificent descent...
After 9 minutes
you pass the wells and the chapel, you then keep to the left in order to
reach the gravel road Maybe, you would
like to have a rest in Apíkia? Opposite the Sáriza-well there is the
pleasant outdoor terrace of the hotel; more to the left and a little
down you can find the tavern O Tássos, and finally, when you take a left
on the asphalt road, in the direction of the small factory where the
bottles with water are filled, you can also see the café-bar Zefyrus
(where there are also rooms to let). In the month of May all of these
places were closed. But since 2013, there is also thecafé-restaurant “Tou
Parianoú”. Also the way back
to Chóra follows the same trajectory as the way out – it should thus be
enough to only give these brief directions: If you have to go
back to the centre of town you have to follow the beach for about 8
minutes. You then cross the bridge on the left and via the restaurants
and the staircase of 53 steps you thus reach the main street of Chóra.
In
order to get the printer-friendly version |