Donoússa: Stavrós - Kalotarítissa and back |
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Evaluation:
On a small island
like Donoussa (16 km²) it is possible to
discover in a few hours a big part
of the island. This walk follows beautiful trails with some stunning views.
Trails and magnificent views to the sea and Náxos make this hike worth a
maximum of ****. Route description: (0h00) You start from the pier and you walk north along the edge of the water to the right; you pass under the mini-market/taverna To Kýma and the bakery. Just before arriving at the beach and underneath the bakery, you should go up the paved slope to the left (hiking sign Kalotarítissa + [1]).
A little later, you take a left, near the double heavy electric pole (arrow +
[1]) and you thus pass to the right of the church; here, you descend to the
right ([1] on top of
a small fountain), and when the paved road arrives next to a second fountain,
you go left onto a paved staircase [1].
The concrete street leaves the village.
The nice trail to Kalotarítissa.
The right wall turns right, but you continue straight (arrow + [1]): the trail
becomes very vague and stony, but you continue to follow more or less the left
wall (2 X [1] ).
You arrive –temporarily – at the top, next to a nice tree, and the left wall
also veers away;
the
trail that continues straight is now clearer.
You come back along the wall, then you wind left and right through a breach in
a cross-wall, and the pleasant path continues on a gentle slope.
View on the rugged coastline of Donoússa.
You go down a little, and after having crossed a small ravine, you get to a
little road.
The bay of Roússa or Kalotarítissa. |
A long descent of 12 minutes ends on a ridge, from where you enjoy an
exceptional view of the sea and Náxos, with also the long point of Aspros Kávos,
de White Cape. (1h26) After 16 minutes, you get to a wide stony track, which you follow to the right for the final descent (cairn + [ 1]), and so you arrive to the right of the first house. A concrete lane begins here and you follow it between the houses. Just beyond an alóni (threshing floor), you can turn right on a concrete road that describes a wide turn in order to finish to the right of the beach and above the rocky coast. The asphalt road to Stavrós starts on the right side. (1h32) For the way back, you follow the concrete road - or you start from the beach - in the direction of the village. Just past the small church, you continue on the concrete street, in between the poor houses. Just beyond an open gate made of reinforcing steel, you climb a few concrete steps and the stony slope, where the walk [1] begins (a fallen down hiking sign + [1]). (1h38) You follow a kind of track on the stony slope, to the right of a solitary bush, but the real trail starts a little further on the LEFT side, next to a retaining wall ([1] on a big cairn).
The remains of the retaining wall help to follow the path... You now should follow the cairns, but also the remains of the retaining wall, the few red marks and a few trail markers [1]. After about 16-17 turns and a final climb in a straight line, you pass through the narrow trench and you arrive in this way at the ridge with the magnificent view to the right. You follow the ridge a few minutes, then you veer left.
A deep precipice on the right! (2h00) The real climb to the pass begins again after 3 minutes; after another 4 minutes, you keep to the right and climb becomes steeper and stony. Before reaching the telephone poles on the pass, you keep more to the left, then you zigzag right and left, then right again to reach the rocky road.The climb of 40 minutes means an important drop of 260 meters! (2h12) You go left for a while, but you do NOT continue on the road, but you take the trail which begins a little higher, near a large cairn - it then descends under the telephone line and continues to the right of it. The path becomes wider and reddish (cairn), and gets finally again to the road with the trenches of erosion. You go right, but already after 10 meters, you can cut the big bend of the road by taking a left on an invisible trail - but you still get to the road. You now will follow it for 13 minutes - possibly, you can count the telephone poles: first 4 on the left side of the road, then 5 on the right, then another 2 left and 2 right, and then, near the 3rd pole on the left (there is a [1] ), you should pay attention. (2h31) Here you should descend to the right (cairn) and follow the trail: it describes two difficult turns, then it continues straight on – and again, it gets to the road, between two cairns [1]. (2h34) You go right for a few moments, then you again can follow the path on the left (fallen sign "Stavros" + [1]): it crosses the river bed and then continues without problems. Stavrós appears in the distance, you continue just down the ridge with splendid views and the trail continues flatly or slightly sloping. It becomes more stony after 6 minutes, and past the breach in the wall, you keep to the left, then to the right, and the descent continues to the left of the wall. The path becomes wider, then vaguer and less easy, and you finally arrive between walls. (2h48) You continue for another 4 minutes, then you arrive next to the gate on the concrete slope leading down to the asphalt road. The concrete road continues straight across, and after 4-5 minutes, it becomes a paved street between the houses. You keep of course to the right at the foot of the stairs, you pass to the left of the church and you get to a side street next to the heavy pole. You go right and so you arrive next to the beach, where you can go right to the pier. (3h04)
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