Léfkes - Agios Ioánnis Kaparós - Agios Geórgios - Aneratzá - Kamári - Alykí |
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| Evaluation:
This is a very interesting, though rather long hike, leading you through
the unknown interior of Páros, with amongst others a marvellous monopáti
between Agios Geórgios and Kamári, via Aneratzá. The hike leaves from
the beautiful village of Léfkes and it arrives in Alykí, where you can
still have a swim. It gets an evaluation of ***.
Estimated time:
The actual walking time to Agios Geórgios takes almost one hour and a
half. The following part to Aneratzá is really beautiful and takes
about 30 minutes, and then it will cost you another 30 minutes to Kamári.
Finally, you will have to walk on the asphalt road for yet another 35
minutes until you reach Alykí. This total actual walking time of 3h05
refers to a total walking time of 5h50, with a possible picnic break at
Agios Geórgios. Route
description:
[You can take the 10 o’clock bus from Parikiá to Léfkes.] (0h04) You go up on the right of the supermarket Léfkes (there is also a signpost to Agi Pántes) and you take the white staircase in front of you. You cross a small concrete road and you continue on the older staircase, with on your right-hand side a beautiful pine forest. In this way you get to the concrete road, which you follow to the left. A couple of minutes later you have a nice view on the village of Léfkes, with the large church; beyond you also notice the sea and the island of Náxos.
Panoramic view on Léfkes. You walk on the right-hand side of a chapel with a blue roof and you keep
going up on the main road – you DO NOT go left to Agia Kyriakí. (0h12) About
150 m past the
chapel you find a fairly broad trail off the left,
immediately past the final house. On this trail you take a right
immediately, and in this way you cut a corner of the road. When you get
to the road again you take a left. A few minutes later, the concrete
turns into gravel and after another 3-4 minutes you arrive at a
junction: you take the small concrete road off the left. This road
curves to the right and it follows the trajectory of the old monopáti
between walls. Slightly further you keep to the right. Once in a while
the ancient pavement appears – it has been a pointless shame to ever
cover this trail with concrete! Further down you get to another ancient
stretch, then there is gravel and after some 6 minutes you reach the
concrete road again. (0h25) The
gravel road continues on the opposite side (signpost
A. Ioánnis Kaparós), but large parts have been turned into concrete,
unfortunately. After 5-6 minutes you walk on gravel again, for a short
while, and you keep to the right – you can already spot the blue dome.
After 9-10 minutes you keep to the right again, while the massif of the
Agi Pántes towers impressively in front of you.
The Agi Pántes. You get to a house
and after the house there is the almost invisible building of A. Ioánnis
Kaparós; a grumpy man tells us that the monastery is closed. (0h38) On the left you notice the beginning of a narrow road, which soon rises above the hidden monastery; after about 5 minutes you do get a nice view on this monastery.
Agios Ioánnis Kaparós. At a kind of side road you proceed straight ahead and in this way you arrive at a vague ground between walls situated wide apart. You have to continue straight ahead, up this slope, in the direction of a lonely house. Up there you find a small road, which you follow to the left, in the direction of the higher-located main road. Over here you can take some rest, because you have a marvellous view on Agi Pántes, the entire valley and then the sea – with a small tip of the village of Náousa right in front of you and the island of Náxos on the right. (0h46) You
keep following the small road in the direction of the house.
You pass underneath the house, on its left-hand side, and you continue
upwards. Finally, by describing a large curve to the left, you end up on
the main road, where you take a right. (1h02) After
7 minutes the - very - broad road curves to the right,
to the Agi Pántes, but you proceed straight ahead on the gravel road (and
you DO NOT take the small road off the left). What follows – as often
on the island of Páros – is a long stretch of gravel road. Very soon
you will see your next target, the little church of Agios Geórgios,
with a blue roof, at a crossing of roads. From this point onwards you
can also clearly distinguish the island of Antíparos in front of you.
After a few large curves to the left you keep going down until you reach
the church, after some 26 minutes of gravel road. |
The little church of Agios Geórgios. (1h28) Next
to the church you see a pyramid-shaped monument, to commemorate the
place of birth of the war hero
Nikólaos Iak. Stellas (1921-1944). There is a stone bench and a picnic table, so this is a nice spot to have
some rest or to have lunch. Behind the fence
next to the church there is the beginning of a very fine trail, much
more authentic than the Byzantine Road – and there are really no other
hikers!
The beautiful monopáti to Aneratzá. After
11 minutes the trail runs in a gorge and it becomes a little vaguer.
Finally, it gets to the left of a small wall and it becomes more obvious
again. Some 2-3 minutes later you walk in the bed of a river for a
short while, but after a couple of minutes you continue on the
right-hand bank.
The
path to Aneratzá. (1h58) After hiking wonderfully for exactly half an hour you reach a small gravel road and you take a left. After less than one minute, however, past a few stables, you go left, onto another trail. This trail descends into the bed of a river and it continues between walls, going up in southern direction. (2h00) Also this unknown path, which is not indicated on the Road-map, is easy to follow and you find more cartridges from hunters as well.
The path between Aneratzá and Kamári. After 5-6 minutes
you keep to the left; you climb on some rocky ground and higher up the
trail becomes broader, almost like a gravel road. You see a fertile
plain in front of you with the coastline and Alykí beyond: to the right
you also distinguish the tip of the island of Antíparos. (2h07) You
walk for about 13
minutes on this gravel road, straight ahead all the time and by
describing a large curve to the right - far away you can already notice
a crossing. You pass a few drives and after some 12 minutes also a
concrete road. You arrive at a large, rocky three-forked junction, where
you take a left, between walls. (2h20) You
descend now, you reach some concrete and then you get to the houses of Kamári.
Just past a beautiful well you arrive at the main road. (2h28) You
go right here and then you necessarily have to walk on the asphalt road
for another 35
minutes! You first follow a lonely road for a little over 16 minutes;
this road is very windy at first and then it runs straight to the sea.
In this way you get to the main road, where you take a left. (2h48) Some
4 minutes later you reach a T-junction, and you go right (signpost Alykí). After about 12 minutes you reach
the centre of the village; at a side road you continue straight ahead
and you thus arrive at the sea. On the right you notice the modest beach
and on the left there is a picturesque little harbour with nice outdoor
terraces. (3h03) [The
bus to Parikiá leaves from the place where the road gets to the beach.
In May 2007 there were busses at 4.20pm and 6.20pm.]
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