Vóthonas - Pýrgos - Profítis Ilías - Emborió
Evaluation:
This is a fairly short hike, really through the interior of Santoríni,
reminding you of bygone days and taking you to areas not frequented by ordinary
tourists. The optional detour via the 567 metres-high summit of the Profítis Ilías
is a must – this hike gets an evaluation of **.
Estimated time:
The hike in itself takes about 2h10 (actual walking time): 30 minutes to hike
from Vóthonas to Pýrgos, some 10 minutes to walk through the village of Pýrgos,
then, possibly, 30 minutes to the summit of the Profítis Ilías and 20 minutes
to descend again; finally, it will cost you some 40 minutes to hike from Pýrgos
till Emborió.
Because the monastery on the Profítis Ilías is closed between 1pm and 5pm, you
should make sure to leave Vóthonas around 11 o’clock – which means that you
have to catch the bus or a taxi from Firà at about 10.30am at the latest. Until
late at night you can take the bus back from Emborió to Firà (however, the bus
from Períssa only gets to Emborió once every hour, so you should write down
the hours of the bus before your departure).
Route description:
On the bus square of Firà you
can find out whether the bus to Pýrgos and Períssa also goes via Vóthonas –
otherwise, you can take a taxi (which cost us 6 € in the year 2006).
You should ask the bus or
taxi driver to get off in the large bend of the asphalt road at hotel
Kalliesperis. Straight across you go down the few steps between two houses and
in this way you arrive at a small concrete road – you follow this road to the
left. You walk past the sports field and you thus get to a small street. You go
down into the valley until you reach a church with a blue dome. Via a
staircase-street you continue into the eroded valley – you can already see Pýrgos
high up in front of you. You
arrive at the church of Panagía, remarkable because of the clock tower, the
blue domes and the huge eucalyptus tree. You go to the right, past the church,
and you then take the small street off the left, at a heavy electricity pole.
You pass some tumbled-down
houses, still bearing the obvious traces of the earthquake of 1956 – the fancy
streets and shops of Santorini seem very far away from here! Also striking are
the deserted old houses, hewn out in the pumice deposits – there are even a couple
of new houses, also partly constructed in the pumice. After 2 minutes,
just before you get to a white staircase, leading to a chapel with a clock tower
on the right, you find a narrow path off the left. This path is mostly covered
with the ancient paving and sometimes it is a little overgrown. It runs through
small, eroded valleys and sometimes past small vineyards; it shows you how the
island of Santoríni looked like in earlier days.
Some 7 minutes later you
get between walls and you can already see Pýrgos fairly nearby in front of you.
After following this trail for about 12-13 minutes you arrive at another world
for a short while: you get to the asphalt road with a lot of tourist buses. From
here you have a great view on the central part of the island with the towns of
Firá, Messariá and Vóthonas, and also the airport on the right.
You continue towards the
right, by following some concrete. Almost immediately, though, you find another
beautifully paved trail that goes further up – unfortunately, there is also
some plastic, left behind by the farmers.... After three more minutes you get to
the end of the nice trail and you keep going up on a steep slope – quite
strenuous, but your view gets even more beautiful. After another 2-3 minutes you
arrive at a small asphalt road, just underneath Pýrgos, and you take a right.
Slightly further, past a workshop, you take the concrete road on the left. You
continue and a little later on you keep to the right; you thus get to some
ancient paving again. In this way you meander in the direction of the church.
Almost above you keep to the right again and you thus reach one of the churches
of Pýrgos; on the right you have a wonderful view towards Akrotíri.
You walk through the village, past hotel Zannos, under the kastello, and then on
the right of a second church. You go down and you thus get underneath a third
church; from here you have a nice view on the two large churches with blue domes
and typical clock towers.
When you get to a white
chapel you go left and via a kind of play ground of a language school you reach
the Platía St. Melekou, which is rather a crossing with shops and outdoor
terraces
At this point you rather not take the asphalt road on the left; instead, you
take the nicely paved street, which runs on the left-hand side of and parallel
to the main road. After about 5 minutes you thus leave the actual village and
you arrive at the asphalt road, which you follow in the direction of the Profítis
Ilías. Some 4 minutes later, at the final houses, you notice a trail paved with
cobbles on the left; there is also a small sign "Profitis Ilias by foot",
underneath a cross.
[If you would rather not make the detour to the Profítis Ilías, you should continue on the asphalt road for another 10 metres; you then take the gravel road off the right, next to a vineyard.]
This beautiful trail goes
up gradually, between walls – first on a ridge and then on the slope of the
mountain. Along the way you notice plenty of vineyards on the slopes towards
Akrotíri on your right-hand side – used for the famous sweet white wine of
Santoríni. Behind you, the panoramic view on Pýrgos + Firá is really
beautiful.
After 23 minutes you cross
the asphalt road and on the opposite side you find a narrower path that
continues midst pumice stone. Another 3 minutes later you reach the asphalt road
once more, at the foot of some military buildings. You follow the road on the
right and after a couple of minutes you already get to the monastery, on the top
of the Profítis Ilías, where you also notice 5 large and a couple of small
aerials – it has just been 30 minutes since you left Pýrgos.
After your visit and a possible picnic you return the same way you came and
you follow the asphalt road going down. You curve to the right and you get to a
straight stretch of asphalt that runs underneath the military buildings. In
the meanwhile, you look out for a path made of pumice stone, which goes down on
the left (on the place where also the electricity poles go down on the left).
After 2 minutes you cross the asphalt road again, but straight ahead the trail
continues beautifully. The path is very obvious and it runs straight to Pýrgos.
Along the way you notice again how many vineyards are still situated on the
slopes of the Profítis Ilías.
After 20 minutes already
you arrive at the asphalt road again, nearby the first houses of Pýrgos. You go
left on the main road, but after 10 metres already you see a gravel road on the
right, between a house with lanterns and a vineyard. On the left of this road
you find a trail covered with gravel and pumice stone. The traces of manure tell
us that this trail is still frequented a lot. A couple of minutes later
you get between walls made of lava rock. You
walk midst the vineyards again, studded with black stones – in summer it can
be really hot over here. After some 8 minutes the trail is better paved and it
continues between lava walls.
After 12 minutes all together you reach a sandy road which you follow to the left when you get to a bend. Some 1-2 minutes later, though, you find the continuation of the trail on your left-hand side. You now follow a marvellous trail between walls, which descends steeply towards Emborió. Finally, the path curves all the way to the left and via a concrete slope you reach the valley. You take a right, of course, and you proceed for another 2 minutes – through a beautiful little street, underneath two arches.
Further down you arrive at
a concrete street, which you keep following. The street zigzags, but you go
straight ahead all the time. You walk underneath some churches and after 6-7
minutes you go left (at a fire plug). Some 3-4 minutes later (at a school) you
keep to the right and then you continue straight ahead. You walk underneath
another school and you thus get to a kind of square or crossing, on the road
from Períssa to Firá.
Past the playground you notice the impressive church. Over here you can wait for the bus.