Ormos Korthíou - Rogó - Lardiá - Gianniséo - Mésa Vouní and back |
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Evaluation:
This hike explores the region between Ormos Korthíou and the hill ridge
that separates the deep valley of Dipotámata from the wide valley of
the Megálos Potamós - this is a hill crest with summits such as
the Gerakónas (719 m) and the Tsirovlidhi (722 m). The hike then also
goes up via an endless number of steps and with a great panoramic view
on the bay of Kórthi, all the way till Mésa Vouní, situated at an
altitude of 600 metres. This hike is fairly well indicated with the
trail marker [5]. Unlike the hike
to Exo Vouni (see
the walk Ormos Korthíou
- Exo Vouni),
in this hike you have to go back the same way you came – all the way
to the point of departure. This hike deserves the maximum evaluation of
****. In spring-time the many wild flowers and the streaming water are really an added value! Estimated time:
According to the sign at your point of departure in Ormos Korthíou it
takes 40 minutes to Lardiá and 1h35 till Mésa Vouní. We walked for
1h45 until the church of Mésa Vouní,
for a distance of 4,82 km The way back took the same amount
of time, so the actual walking time (AWT) took about 3h30. Taking into
account the breaks and a picnic, we hiked from 10.30am to 6.45pm, so a
little over four hours (AWT). Route
description:
(0h00) At the bus stop in Ormos Korthíou you follow the
pedestrian street, the main street between the bar Centro and the
information and taxi office. Slightly
further you get to a first little square with an information sign on the
hikes. It is
better, though, to continue straight ahead to the picturesque little
square called Alíki Psálti, with the café Sea Satin and a nice
outdoor terrace under the mulberry trees – on your right-hand side
there is a shop where you can buy some supply of drinks.
You proceed straight ahead, on a concrete street. At the T-junction, about 1 minute further down, you take a right, you go down and there you can find the first trail marker [5]. You follow the narrow concrete path for about 5 minutes - and already after 3 minutes, you can see the little village of Rogó on the green slopes before you. You then cross a grassy, almost dry bed of a river (there was still water on the 13th of May 2011) and you go left immediately on a larger concrete road [5]. According to the side stones this road clearly follows the trajectory of the ancient trail. You pass a small stream and you continue straight ahead; on your left-hand side you can see some pigeon towers. After about 9 minutes, just past a coloured bench, you arrive at a junction. Over there, the real paved trail continues to the left, running alongside the brook all the time – there are no trail markers at this point. The path runs alongside a little stream...
The beautiful - sometimes overgrown - monopátia between Rogó and Lardiá.
You take a left and immediately thereafter you go left again – there are no trail markers at all. You keep right after 44 steps, you pass a little church and at a beautiful living tower you keep to the left (no trail markers). You go down a little and after 2 minutes you go up a staircase on the right [5]. The living tower in Lardiá. (0h47) You
leave the village via a number of staircases, leading to a narrow earth
path. Watch out: after walking on this earth path for 1 minute you note
an ambiguous [5] on a boulder. In our case the arrow was pointing down,
but you have to continue to the right – you first climb up for a short
while and you then get to an asphalt road. You take a left for about
10-15 metres and then you go up the staircase on the right. A wooden
hiking sign tells you that it will take another 1h20 to your final
destination. (1h05)
In the
village of Gianniséo you keep to the right first and then to the left
(twice there is the trail marker [5]); after about 30 steps you continue
on a short stretch of concrete and then there are again some 145
steps… After another 3 minutes you get to a T-junction at the bottom
of a house; there are no trail markers and you take a right. A little
later you reach a small asphalt parking lot, where you proceed straight
ahead on the steps. You thus walk through the hamlet of Paleokástro,
past the municipal office. We asked somebody whether we were still on
the right track and, indeed, this is still trail no.[5]. In this way you
continue straight ahead, leaving the village already. There are again
some concrete steps and after a total of 170 steps, you arrive at a
gravel road – there are no indications anymore. (1h15) You have to follow this road to the left - watch the flowers on the edge of the road. The flowered edge of the road... First
you walk towards a
prominent hill with a
flat top, but then you
veer a little to the right until you reach a side road -
you can already see Mésa
Vouní in front of you.
Beautiful paths between a lot of flowers... (1h25) One more minute further down you take a left again, although it seems as if some one has tampered with the trail marker. The trail straight ahead seems to lead more in the direction of Vouní, but it runs to a dead end after 6 minutes! You should also have a look at the beautiful valley with the cultivated terraces on your right-hand side. You thus have to go left, which means that you walk again in the direction of the flat rock. Later on, the trail curves to the right and after some 3 minutes you get to a modest church with a stone roof – the church is open. |
The nice path towards Mésa Vouní. The trail splits
up and you have to go right [5]; slightly further you take a right again
and the following stretch is flat – you should remember that the
monastery of Panachrántou is not very far from here, only at the other
side of the hill in front of you (with an aerial and electricity poles). [If you would continue to Exo Vounií see the walk Ormos Korthíou - Exo Vouní.] (1h45) You thus return on the concrete path that passes next to the beautiful bunch of almond trees. The trail runs on the left of a concrete slope, and in this way you get to the houses again; you keep walking straight ahead and higher up. In the end you go down a concrete staircase and past the last house you descend into the valley: you arrive next to the well and then you curve to the left on the very overgrown path. A little further you go left again ([5] on a grey wall) and what follows now is a nice, flat path between walls - a beautiful stretch straight to the flat hilltop and to the chapel of Agia Anastásia.
The splendid path between Mésa Vouní and Gianniséo. (2h03)
The magnificent trail continues [5], but after a while it is overgrown.
After a left curve you take a sharp right, before a little gate, and
again one minute further on you a right again - of course, along a tall
wall [5]. First you pass a few Mediterranean
maples, later on the path gets overgrown and very green, and
finally you descend into the very green valley with running water. A lot of running water... (2h11)
You climb up a lot and after a short stretch that is horizontal, you get
to the gravel road: you take a right for a short while, and then you
take the little side-road off the left, on the left of a concrete post.
The valley of Vouní disappears behind you. Panoramic view on the bay of Kórthi. After 3 minutes, close
to the parking lot, you take the new, concrete steps between the grey
concrete walls. You descend for about 76 steps, then you continue
straight ahead (and NOT to the right); if you keep going straight ahead,
you will pass the municipal office and arrive at the parking lot. (3h02) This brings you to a rocky spot [5], where you keep to the left. You now reach a pretty, flat, but overgrown stretch - note the beautiful green valley on the right with the many picturesque cypress trees! The beautiful valley of the Megálos Potamós, under Rogó and Lardiá. After again some
concrete steps you reach the houses of Rogó – at a rough estimate you
have descended some 400 steps since the lower part of Lardiá.
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