Evaluation: This hike follows a short time the trajectory of walk [3], and then a little part of walk [9], but it turns to the right on the ridge with the windmills. At the end of the road, you descend to the left and then you get to very nice and beautiful paths that recently were cleared. There is also a stretch on gravel, but finally you get again to the path of walk [9] and so you return to Ioulída. Deserves ***.
[The English translation was made with the help of Google translate - do not mind the mistakes please.]

Estimated time: It takes 2h15 (in actual walking time) to do this walk - we walked three and a half hours (total walking time)...

Route description: (0h00) For all hikes departing from Chóra you leave from the parking place (with bus stop). You walk on the left of the small shop of Kianos, through the picturesque arched passage (the stóa). In this way you arrive at a tiny square, the Piátsa, with the outdoor terrace of the café/estiatório I Piátsa.

The Piátsa.

The "stoa" that leads to the little square...

The small street on the left leads to the Kástro, but you take a right, through a modern vault, to the centre. After some 20 metres you keep to the right at a large wooden hiking sign; in front of you, you can see the church with the red dome of the Agios Dimítrios. You pass the nice bar + terrace En Levkoó and via the Odós A. Lazarídi it takes you a few hundred metres to get to the central square, the "platía", with the "dimarchío" or town hall.
You continue and at the small electricity store you take a right almost immediately; you then go up the staircase street (a small sign points to the "archaíos léoon", the "old lion"). After some 2 minutes you get to the junction of the important hikes [1] (straight ahead to the Lion and Otziás) and [3] (on the right to Karthéa).

The hiking sign for walks [1] and [3].

You now take a right into the Odós Ilía Malavózou, a nice staircase street, and you follow thus the trajectory of hike [3] for a short while. After 14-15 steps, you go up straight across on the right [3] and a little further you keep to the left [3]. After 77 steps you pass one of the three bakeries of Ioulída and slightly further you find a mini-market on the left. Over here you can still buy some drinks or other supplies.  

(0h09) Hike [3] continues up, but you have to take a right. Thereafter you take the 2^nd staircase on the left (just before an arched passage), you pass through two other vaults and then take the 1st on the left; you veer to the right and take the 1st staircase on the left again – you thus keep going higher and higher. After 1 minute this staircase gets to a small concrete street – you go left for a short while and then you take the uppermost street going up on the right. About 1 1/2 minute later you get to a nice staircase, which brings you to the asphalt road in about 2 minutes. Almost straight across you notice a wooden sign "Thólos 20' / Kalogerádos 50' / Elliniká 1u45" and that is the beginning of your hike [9].

(0h17) The staircase goes up beautifully and it then arrives between walls; you thus climb up for a fair amount of time – sometimes the steps are rough-hewn in the rock. After 5 minutes you reach the little asphalt road that runs over the hill crest with the mills, close to a chapel. Over here, there used to be 26 mills, mainly on the right, but also on the left – this is the largest number of mills anywhere on the Cyclades! You follow the road to the right, walk beside a water tank and then you arrive next to some windmills. Please note that you have to take the little concrete road to the left that starts next to the 3rd windmill beyond the reservoir: it becomes first a neglected path and then a beautiful cobblestone staircase. You thus arrive next to some buildings on a concrete ramp, that you follow to the left (walking sign Kalogerádos 1h20). Soon you come to a nice path to the right of a wall.

The hiking sign for the walk to Kalogerádos.

(0h27) You go down during 3 minutes and then keep to the right on a beautiful path between high walls.

The beginning of the marvellous path to Kalogerádos.

 Further on, you continue in a kind of rocky bed, but you leave it to the left after a little less than 2 minutes - and then you keep to the left again.

(0h33) The following 14 minutes are really wonderful, and usually slightly rising - there is only one ascent that is steeper, and occasionally you can enjoy beautiful views behind you on the range of mills.

(0h47) You reach in this way a gravel road, which you follow to the right, but you immediately keep to the left on the main road. You follow this easy road for 12 minutes - after 7 minutes there is a side-road on the left and a little bit further a little road on the right, towards a chapel. The road is all the way rather pleasant, because of the flowered verges and the beautiful sea view, with the mainland and Giáros.

(0h59) So you come before a very small, blue chapel, where a clear path goes left between walls.

The beginning of a new path...

You are here approximately at the crest of a hill and your path will now almost continually go down, usually with a beautiful wooded valley on your right.

Beautiful paths in a green environment.

After about 8 minutes you get to a beautiful plane stretch, often between trees. After another steep descent, you keep to the left, next to a blocked path on the right. After a flat end again and then a short descent, you go left again. You now walk straight to the Profítis Ilías, with antennas on the summit.
You pass under some rocks and past the ruins of a barn, you go up a bit and then you have to watch out: at the moment that your path abruptly descends to the right, there is almost unnoticed a split: on the opposite side, there is a path that further is overgrown and that also returns to Ioulída (see the walk Ioulída - Kalogerádos - Myli - Ioulída, where you can follow this trail in the other direction).

(1h19) You thus descend here to the right, while meandering on a rocky path, and after a little under 2 minutes you arrive in the bed of a river, between walls - you follow it to the LEFT.
After 1 minute, you take a sharp RIGHT out of the bed, on a staircase.

A nice staircase goes up out of the riverbed.

You describe 3 short turns and after a 2 minutes walk you get to the side-path of walk [9].

[To the right, you could continue to Agios Nikólaos and further on to the Profítis Ilías and back to Ioulída - see the walk Ioulída - Agios Nikólaos - Profitis Ilias - Ioulída.]

(1h25) But now, you have to go LEFT (a little bit further a [9]) and the beautiful path descends slowly into the valley. After 3-4 minutes you keep right on a vague split and you descend into the rocky riverbed. A little bit later, you seem to leave this riverbed to the left ([9] on a wall), but you come back in the bed and will follow that riverbed for a long time, even on the moment that there is a path that goes up to the right (a little bit further, you will see 2 times a [9]). The bed is narrower now, you come alongside a high wall and only after 8-9 minutes you finally go up to the left.

(1h37) You keep to the left on the rocky slope left [9] and you arrive in this way above and beside the broad rocky riverbed. A little further, you go up to the left on a beautiful cobblestone staircase that describes 6 beautiful curves - at the 6th turn you keep to the right of course [9] and so you get to a gravel road, next to a recently built chapel.

(1h42) You go right up and after an easy and nearly flat stretch of 4 minutes you go up another 9 minutes, until you get to a side-road, next to a stable.

(1h56) You go right [9] and almost immediately you pass next to Agios Ioánnis Theológos.

The little church of Agios Ioánnis Theológos.

You walk along the hill of the Thólos and after 10 minutes you reach the little asphalt road that runs on the ridge with the mills. Here you go left, but a little further, you can take a path left of 2 mill stumps [9]. You get to the road again, where you take a left, but just past the round water tank and at the lowest point of the road, you can take the path on the RIGHT.
After a few moments, you have to keep to the right, you walk in this way above the school and the sports fields and finally you descend to the right on a beautiful paved staircase to the main road.

(2h01) On the opposite side, you see, behind a wall [9], a concrete street that steeply winds down: you do not take the 1st stairs on the left, but you continue to follow the street until it comes more or less to a dead end, at a small parking lot. Here you go straight ahead into an street with stairs and you arrive down on a side-street, where you should go up to the right, until you reach the upper main street, with the pantopolío just opposite and the bakery to the left.

(2h09) You go down to the left and when you get to the main street, you take of course a left to the Piátsa and the parking lot. (2h17)

To get the printer friendly version
with only the text
in one column,
click here.