ITINERARY | HIGHLIGHTS | WEATHER | ACCOMMODATION & ADDITIONAL INFO Greece 2010
THE HEART OF NAXOS
A self guided or guided walking holiday on the unspoilt island of Naxos
Naxos is the largest and most fertile island in the Cyclades, and offers some of the most interesting and varied walking. The programme is designed to show you as much of this diverse landscape as possible, in order to gain an insight into its rich mythology, history and culture. You will stroll through hamlets where life follows the seasonal rhythm it has done for generations, and through groves of ancient olive trees. From the summits of two of the highest mountains in the Cyclades, there are unforgettable panoramas of the whole island, surrounded by the gleaming blue of the Aegean Sea. And when you descend to the coast, you will probably have a string of perfect sandy bays all to yourself. This holiday can be combined with Tinos or Amorgos to make a fortnight’s holiday in the Cyclades. Please contact us for more information.
PRICE
SELF-GUIDED - £495 per person for 7 nights (based on two people sharing a room). There is a single supplement of £65. Please note that a surcharge will apply in July and August.
GUIDED - £675 (based on two people sharing). Dates TBA. For guided departures, lunches (except on free day) and museum fees are also included.
INCLUDEDAccommodation in double/twin room, with en-suite bathrooms (Naxos town: bed and breakfast in Grotta Hotel; Potamia: village house with self-catering facilities; Apeiranthos, Moutsouna and Filoti: village rooms)
- Detailed route directions, notes and maps
- Taxi transfers where applicable (including to/from port at beginning and end of holiday).
Transfer of baggage, apart from daypack, to each daily destination. - The services of a route manager in case of difficulties
NOT INCLUDED
Flights to/from Naxos, admission fees, and meals (apart from breakfast in Naxos town)
Departure dates 2010: SELF-GUIDED - from mid-April to early October. Please note that July and August are very hot and that extra charges will apply as accommodation providers raise their prices at this time.
GUIDED - 30 May
To book email:
walking@star.co.uk T: (44)
(0)1242 254353
Day 1: On arrival at the port or airport, you will be met and taken to your hotel. The route manager will brief you on the week ahead, answer any of your questions, and recommend good places to eat in town. Depending on arrival and departure times, you will have a chance to explore the steep narrow lanes leading up to the medieval Venetian kastro (fortified palace), the islet where minotaur slayer Theseus abandoned the Cretan princess Ariadne, and the bustling harbour front. Overnight in comfortable, clifftop hotel in Naxos town, with breakfast on the premises.
Day 2: After breakfast goby taxi to the village of Tripodes for the start of your walk. From here a track leads up for sweeping views of Naxos town and the neighbouring island of Paros. Continue via a former bishop’s palace and ruined church to the luxuriant Potamia valley with its steep-stacked houses, terraced gardens and orchards. A marble paved track bordered with aromatic shrubs (orchids in spring), leads over the hills back to the Potamia valley.
13.5 kms/8.4 miles. Overnight in pretty village house, Ano Potamia Day 3: Walk along the old Venetian road, scented with lavender, cistus and thyme; pass a frescoed chapel and the ruins of a fortified palace. Walk to the next village with its faded Venetian elegance and sun-dappled plateia (square). Ascent of Mount Fanari (long but steady), full of interest and variety – stream beds shaded by evergreen plane trees, a tiny chapel perched on a bluff and a narrow, marble-paved track.
11 kms/6.9 miles. Overnight in village house, Apeiranthos Day 4: A slightly shorter, downhill walk to a miniature port on the east coast means that you should have time, before you set off, to visit the idiosyncratic archaeological, folklore and geological museums of Apeiranthos. Then cross a wilder landscape and the remains of the emery-mining industry. In between is an isolated chapel with rare frescos, a spectacular stretch of coastline below. A swim on one of the beaches of Moutsouna await you at the end of the day’s walk.
12 kms/7.5 miles. Overnight village house in Moutsouna. Day 5: REST DAY: After a day exploring and relaxing on the beaches around Moutsouna, a taxi transfers you and your baggage to the village of Filoti forovernight.
Day 6: An easy climb to Naxos’s second largest village, perched high above a sea of olives, and then on to Aghia Marina chapel. An oak shaded dirt trackleads to a fortified church, whose prospect over the sea and the Minor Cyclades is said to have captivated the poet Lord Byron. From Aghia Marina begin the ascent of Mount Zas (1004m), the highest point in the Cyclades, to take in breathtaking views across land and sea, and perhaps wheeling birds of prey, including Bonelli’s eagles and Griffon vultures. Refreshment await you below in the shaded courtyard beside the Aria spring, before your return to Filoti.
14 or 15 kms/8.75 or 9.4 miles. Overnight Filoti. Day 7: Pilgrimage to a marble temple: A long, but relatively easy walk through a broad valley flanked by limestone crags and wheeling eagles. You walk through the maze-like lanes of two prosperous villages, one with a finely restored olive press, before joining a rock-cut kalderimi (mule track). Arrive in a broad vale of farmland, overseen by the dazzling white marble of the early-Classical Temple of Demeter. A taxi to Naxos town and your hotel.
13.5 kms/8.4 miles. Overnight in hotel in Naxos town Day 8: Transfer to the port or airport.
DIFFICULTY OF WALK
Moderate. Route details are written by an author/journalist who is based on the island for much of theyear, and include interesting stories about what to look out for on the way, from wild flowers and birds of prey, to remote chapels with rare frescos, a marble temple and many a romantic Venetian ruin. Much of the route is along mule-tracks, the traditional links between settlements. Few are waymarked, some are now little used – or known – and can be rough-going. A walking pole or stick is useful for steep slopes with uneven surfaces and loose stones, and long, lightweight trousers may be needed to protect legs from being scratched by spiny scrub vegetation. The daily walks are between 5 and 6.5 hours’ long, allowing for breaks, but not for sight-seeing.
GROUP SIZE
Minimum of two persons
Wild flowers and birds of prey, remote chapels with rare frescos, a marble temple and Venetian ruins, gorgeous seas and skies.
If you have done this walk before we would like to hear of your personal highlights.
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ACCOMMODATION
Simple, clean hotels or self-catering villa with private bathrooms
GETTING THERE
International flights to Athens and transfer to domestic flight to Naxos, or take the airport bus or metro to Piraeus and catch a ferry.
WHAT TO TAKE:
Sturdy walking boots and walking socks (with a change of socks in rucksack), day pack (including water), swimming costume, towel, insect repellent, sun glasses, sun hat, sunblock/cream; torch; small first-aid kit. Light waterproof jacket, light fleece or warm jumper; comfortable walking clothes plus long-sleeved cotton shirt; casual, light clothes for the evenings.
WHEN TO GO
From mid-April to early October. Please note that July and August are very hot and that extra charges will apply as accommodation providers raise their prices at this time. Guided departure on 30 May.
INSURANCE
We recommend that you take out appropriate holiday insurance covering you against illness, injury, and loss or damage to luggage. This insurance should also cover the possibility of your having to cancel your holiday for any reason.
To book, contact
worldwalks at:
email:
walking@star.co.uk T: (44)
(0)1242 254353