Evaluation: This really beautiful hike first brings you to the wonderful villages of Voláx and Agápi. It then follows some great trails to finish on the beach of Kolymbíthra. It definitely gets an evaluation of ***.

Estimated time: The actual walking time takes almost 4h20: 50 minutes from Voláx to Agápi and then a very nice hike of about 80 minutes to the beach of Kolymbíthra. Over there you can have a great swim and restaurant Victoria, situated high above the beach, is a marvellous spot to have lunch!
For the return route you should count on another 2h10, which brings you to 4h20 all together – this will thus turn out to be a rather long hiking day. We hiked from 10.30am to 6.30pm, with a long lunch break on the beach...
You can also considerably shorten this hike by leaving from Agápi. For the taxi ride to Voláx or Agápi you should count on 10 € - this means that you can also consider renting a car (25 € in September 2007).

Route description: (0h00) In the village of Voláx you should leave from the very nice outdoor café of the estiatório I Voláx, on the outskirts of the village. You can easily park your car over there.
Next to the tavern you notice a pergola with oleanders and two stone tables and benches.

A picturesque spot in Voláx.

You walk into the village and you soon get to a picturesque crossing with amongst others two very nice houses with flowers. On the left you notice an arrow to the well (pigí) and the small open air theatre. By walking straight ahead you reach the church and behind the church there is a sandy road running in north-north-western direction, out of the village.
Be careful to stay on the LEFT of the large valley, which runs from Voláx to Agápi – you should not follow the vague paths running in this valley. If you do so, you will get into trouble further on, in the rocky and really wild valley! 

On the sandy road from the church you should rather stay more to the left – you walk on some concrete for a short while, but you soon continue on a gravel road. About 3 minutes later you step over an iron gate, which spans the entire width of the road, and after another 6 minutes you do the same again. In a landscape with large boulders the gravel road keeps meandering up and down until you reach a junction in a sharp bend to the left. The main road continues on the left; in about 20 minutes this road could bring you to Skaládos, but this is not our intention today. Instead, you take the narrower gravel road going up on the right. After 4 minutes already you have to watch out: all of a sudden you can see the village of Agápi beautifully situated in front of you and on a large boulder you notice a blue arrow (+ a red number 36...); this arrow sends you on a path to the right.

(0h22) The following descent into a deep valley is really wonderful; you walk on a shaded and sometimes overgrown trail, with a couple of pigeon towers on your right-hand side. After 9 minutes you arrive at a crossing with a wooden bridge and streaming water on the right, but you continue straight ahead. You go down slightly on a beautiful path and you thus get down in the main valley after another 4-5 minutes, near a pigeon tower and a small building with a little water tower. You continue straight ahead, across a nice arched bridge and then you take a left – you DO NOT go straight ahead up the steps (notice the red and the blue dot, and the red arrow on the rocks).  

The arched bridge in the valley near Agápi.

(0h35) The trail goes up gradually, above the marvellous green valley; straight ahead you can see the village of Sklavochorió. After some 7 minutes the trail becomes a small concrete lane and a couple of minutes later you already reach the village of Agápi. You walk underneath a number of different arches and at the end the little street is almost completely vaulted. Over here you find the nice kafenío O Mitsáras on the left – this café has a pleasant outdoor terrace with a great panoramic view.

A vaulted street in Agápi.

You go further down, following the small street at the café, until you reach the platía Agapitoú Filipoússi, with the small town hall and beyond that the nice wash place with lots of streaming water.  

(0h47) You take the staircase to the left, to the other part of Agápi and you get to the asphalt road underneath the second church, next to the bus shelter, the "politistikó kéntro" (the cultural centre) and a telephone booth.

[In summer you can reach this place by bus. If you come by car, do not leave it where the busses have to turn, but park it a little further on...]

(0h49) Straight across you take the staircase going up to the little church (there is a blue dot), you walk on the RIGHT of the church and you continue immediately on the right between two walls (dot). After about two minutes you arrive at the asphalt road, where you take a left, for some 5-6 minutes.

(0h57) You then have to watch out in order not to pass the trail! At the blue gate of a house on the left and just before an electricity post on the left of the road, there is a clear trail going up on the left. This path becomes a really nice monopáti, well maintained and with beautiful steps. For a couple of minutes it becomes narrower and sandy and then it goes up via some steps to a kind of pass. Almost on top you keep to the right (blue dot) and on the pass, just before you would reach a gravel road, you go right between low walls, in the direction of the large cross, which you have spotted on the hill crest already quite a while ago.

(1h05) You now walk on a fairly broad and flat trail between walls, with a nice view on the entire valley of Agápi.

The monopáti on the hill crest above Agápi.

Past the cross you step over a low wooden obstruction; the path passes a long row of agaves and close to a ruin of a mill it curves to the left - in this way you cross the hill crest. You notice a little church and an asphalt road in front of you. The path curves to the right again, still between low walls. A little further it curves to the left and it descends to a gravel road.

(1h13) You follow this gravel road to the left, but after about 2 minutes you keep to the right (blue dot). You then notice two really beautiful and upright stones, which are part of the wall.

Two really big stones on the side of the road...

Be careful now: some 50-70 metres past these stones there is a narrow path going down on the right; you should NOT follow this path, despite the blue dot! 

(1h24) One minute later, just past a ruin, you see a very clear trail between walls off the right (2 blue dots). You descend for about 4 minutes and you reach the next hill top; you then descend for another 9 minutes, sometimes next to some goat’s stables and with all the time a marvellous view on the already visible bay!

(1h37) After 13 minutes all together you cross an overgrown and closed off trail and you keep going straight ahead. After 5 more minutes you arrive at another trail where you take a left; one minute further on you go right. You then have to descend for 7 minutes, on a nice trail and with the beautiful bay of Apothíkes in front of you.

The path to the bay of Apothíkes. 

(1h50) You go down steeply for 6 more minutes, on a nice and rocky trail, until you reach the gravel road in the bed of the valley, between walls. Some 6 minutes later you reach the desolate beach of Apothíkes.

The beach of Apothíkes.

(2h02) When you follow the gravel road off the left it will take you about 7 minutes to get to the beautiful tavern Victoria, high above the beach of Kolymbíthra. You descend to the picturesque beach, a really nice sandy beach with shade provided by tamarisks; there are also sunshades, deck chairs and a bar/restaurant. (2h10)

The beach of Kolymbíthra.

(2h10) For the return route you follow exactly the same road. You take the gravel road back to the beach of Apothíkes, and after 4 minutes you keep to the left towards this beach. Over there you take the gravel road on the right of the bed of the valley – it is really a pity to see all of this Greek junk littered on the left and the right of this road and near the house.
You follow the road for exactly 7.5 minutes, until you get to the beginning of the path, some 50 metres past the open gate (there is no trail marker!). The path goes up now, sometimes it is rocky and sometimes it consists of steps – in this way you quickly rise above the valley. After climbing up for 7 minutes you keep to the left and about one minute later you go up on the right. There is no trail marker – you can take a rest here and enjoy the silence. You also notice that all of the terraces on the opposite side are eroded and no longer in use.

(2h34) After 5 minutes you cross the overgrown and closed off trail, where you go straight ahead. The path keeps going up, sometimes besides goat’s stables, until you reach the hill top, after a nice climb of some 9 minutes. You can already distinguish the mill far away in front of you – this is the mill you will pass later on. You keep going up slightly to the next hill top and you then turn to the right. You thus get to the gravel road, where you go left.

(2h52) You follow the road for one minute, until it curves to the right: you then take the obvious path straight ahead, which continues nicely on the hill crest and which reaches the gravel road again after 5.5 minutes. You take a left; you pass the large boulders after about 2 minutes and a little further down there is the junction.

(3h02) You go left, but after exactly 2.5 minutes, just past the mill, your trail goes up on the right – there is no trail marker! Slightly later you turn to the right and you walk around the mill. Another 2 minutes later you arrive at the edge of the deep valley – in the evening sun you have a great view on Agápi from this point. You curve to the right and you pass the row of agaves.

View on the valley of Agápi.

At the crossing you go straight ahead, of course, on the beautiful and flat trail. You step over the low obstruction and you thus walk past the cross to the gravel road.

(3h13) Over here the trail goes down on the left all of a sudden and it runs through a worn out passage. You descend on some steps and then you reach a nice and sandy part of the trail; via a series of steps you get to the asphalt road again. You follow the road for about 5.5 minutes and when you reach the point where the road describes a curve to the left, you follow the path straight ahead. This path goes down, straight to the little church with the blue-white spire. At the church you descend on the left, to the road and the bus square.

(3h17) Straight across you notice a staircase going down to the platía and over there you turn to the right. You take the modern, vaulted passage, hidden behind a large oleander, the Odós Ag. Agapitoú. You walk through the village again, past the café and via the nice vaultings and the little streets full of flowers. At the far end of the village, after about 6-7 minutes, you continue on the flat, concrete street and a little later you keep to the right. Very soon you will then find the earth trail, on the right of the small church with a blue spire, running above the very green valley. After some 13 minutes all together you get to the large bridge again, which you cross in order to take the staircase on the right of the pigeon house.  

(3h30) You follow this nice trail without minding the side paths; also at the crossing with the wooden bridge on the left, you go straight ahead. The shaded monopáti curves to the left and it climbs steeply – there are some pigeon houses on its left-hand side. After some 20 minutes you arrive at the sandy road, where you go left; after 4 minutes you finally reach the broader sandy road, where you take a left again, in the direction of Voláx!

(3h54) The road meanders up and down, through a landscape with large granite blocks, resembling the typical landscape around Falatádos. After 7 minutes you step over a low obstruction, blocking the entire road, and you do so again 6 minutes further down. About three minutes later you reach the church of Voláx and you continue straight ahead through this picturesque village. A sign shows you the way to the well (pigí) and to a small open-air theatre.
You can go straight ahead or you can make this small detour – in either way you will get to a charming crossing with nice houses with flowers. You proceed straight ahead and you reach the far end of the village, where you find the beautiful estiatório I Voláx, with a great outdoor café. This is an ideal spot to conclude this long hiking day... (4h14) 

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