Messariá - Ménites and back |
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Evaluation:
This short walk describes the shortest way to get to the pretty village
of Ménites with its famous spring. All the time you walk in one of the most watery
areas of the island, in the marvellous valley underneath Ménites. The
hike gets an evaluation of ***.
Estimated time:
The hike from Messariá to Ménites
- a distance of 1,4 km -
does
not even takes
30 minutes in actual
walking time, the return
route not even 25 minutes. This actual
walking time of a little
less than
one hour refers to a hike of half a day:
we took the bus to Messariá at noon, we had lunch in the tavern in Ménites,
with a break of almost 2 hours, and we were already back in Messariá at
3pm. Route description: (0h00) From the church of Messariá you have to follow the asphalt road to the left (looking at the church) and in this way you arrive at the large terrace of the tavern Diónysos; a little further you see the residential tower of Kaïri. The residential tower of Kaïri in Messariá. Just past the
tavern of Diónysos you find a narrow street going to the right
(hiking sign Ménites
20' and [1[). You go
down the staircase and after one minute you take a left on another trail
[1]:
the concrete path runs along a small water shoot,
above the green valley and with the village of Ménites in front of you.
After some 3 minutes the trail turns into gravel and slightly further
you go straight ahead twice [1]
– the trail has turned
into concrete again. (0h10) Soon thereafter you reach a curve and you notice the trail marker [1] twice, just before two small bridges. You continue straight ahead, across the first bridge, but BEFORE the second bridge you take a green trail off the left [1]. This trail leads you through a green valley and it goes up on old steps. After a little under a minute you see a small water fall, on your left and on a very shaded spot. A lot of water in the valley underneath Ménites. You climb up on a
rocky staircase, you cross a small gutter and you keep going up between
lots of bushes and streaming water. After another 2-3 minutes you arrive
at the corner of a house and you keep to the right [1]. You get to some
concrete steps, you then cross another gutter and you walk for quite a
while on the right-hand side of this gutter.
(0h21) You arrive in this way at a clear
crossroads: straight ahead you go to Lámyra (sign Lámyra 2,1
km / Chóra 5,75 km + [1]), you have to go up to the left
(sign Springs Ménites 370 m + [1b].
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The
taverns Pigés Karidhiés or Drosiá are marvellous spot to have a rest,
under the large trees, midst the gurgling of the water of the wells and
of the river in the deep valley. If you feel like eating something, you
should try the fourtália, an omelette with potatoes and sausage... After a break you
can also climb to the church to admire the beautiful bas-reliefs dating
from the year 1808. The church of Ménites.
(0h29) For the way back, you go down the stairs on the opposite side of the church (hiking sign [9b]); after 5 + 12 steps, you take a far left and continue down, until you come next to a house with three chimneys and the small waterfall, where you go right. Immediately after, you take a sharp left on the stairs [1] and you thus arrive at the bifurcation. [If you prefer to proceed to Chóra via Lámyra, you should take a left here - see the walk Chóra - Lámyra - Ménites and back.] (2h04)
You
take a
right ([1] a little further), you
cross the
water-shoot and for quite a while you walk alongside this water-shoot.
After about nine minutes you cross the water-shoot again. Near the
remnants of a water mill - you should watch out now! - you take a left
on the staircase, near a small white building (there is also a no. [1]).
You thus get alongside some streaming water again. A little further on,
you do NOT take a left across a small bridge. Instead, you keep to the
right and a little further you go left again [1]. Very soon, you will
see the blue dome of the church of Messariá in front of you. You walk
horizontally, the trail is a little overgrown, but later on it gets very
beautiful again – running alongside a water pipe.
The path between Ménites and Messariá. At the houses of
Messariá and next to a gate
leading to a chapel, you go right up a staircase [1] and in this way you reach an
asphalt road, next to the tavern Diónysos.
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