Walking

Tilos is a rather well-known island among people that enjoy walking. A necessity for walking is a good map or a walking guide and you actually find both on Tilos. The very accurate map is prepared by Baz "Paris" Ward, sold locally.

If you prefer the second alternative, the certified walking guides Ian and Lyn Fulton, +3022460-441 28, +30694-605 45 93, fulton@otemet.gr, can assist you. They can take you to unusual places not described or mapped.

During my stay on Tilos I made two basic walks, with Livadi as starting point for both walks.

Livadia-Ammochosti-Lethra-Potami Gorge-main highway-Livadia

From Livadia you look for the far north side of the port and continue to Tilos Mare Hotel and Castellania Apartments. At the highest house in this part of the village the track becomes a trail. From here its easy to find your way north. The path is indicated with red surveyor's mark, and the trail is nice and easy to walk.
After about 30 minutes you will reach Ruth's Rock, a place with splendid view (see photos) over the sea, Ammochosti and towards Agios Stefanos on the other side of Livadia bay.
Continue walk another 15 minutes and you are now above Ammochosti (Red Beach). If you like to take a rest here for swimming and relaxing, it's about a 15-20 minutes walk down to the beach (see photos). The path down is indicated with cairns, which sometimes is difficult to spot.
It’s easier to get back on the main trial, because you see the cairns better, and don't need to stop and look that much. You will need about 10 minutes to get back up.
From Ammochosti you continue as the trail slightly turns left. If you like to walk down to Lethra beach (see photos), there are three different paths to choose from. Time between Ammochosti and above Lethra, at the third path down to the beach, is about 15 minutes. Plan for 10-15 minutes to get down to the beach.
At the third path down to Lethra, you have now turned pretty much left in a wide arc. You now continue walk north (see photos) and follow a ravine and dry stream. Here the walk is a little slower because the trail is not that obvious and the vegetation is sometimes dense. After about 50 minutes of walking you will reach a spring and here the trail turns into a dirt road. I've been told that the water in the springs is drinkable. I didn’t find anything wrong with the taste of the water!
Continue on the dirt road until you reach the main highway. Alternatively you can after a about 100 metres on the dirt road find the original trail to the right and follow it up to the main high way (after the highway, this trail continues up the Mikro Horio). This distance takes about 15 minutes.
At the highway you turn right to go back to Livadia. At some point where the road turns to the right and do some extra hundred meters, you can take a short cut by following an old trail about 200 metres and then you get back on the road again. The walk on the road back to Livadia takes about 25 minutes.

Livadia-Ag. Stefanos-Ag. Ioannis-Spring at Despoti Nero-Yera-Ag.Ioannis, and back
- On this walk you start to walk the road south-east along Livadia bay. After a while the road turns left and you pass a couple of hotels/pensions. The paved road turns into a dirt road at the last apartments at Ag. Stefanos. Continue the dirt road and soon you will reach Agios Ioannis church (see photo). At this point you have been walking about 40 minutes.
- Now the dirt road turns into a nice path (see photo) with build stone walls on the side pointing to the sea (left). During the walk you enter through narrow ravines with many flowers (see photo). After about 20 minutes of walking you reach a junction. The track leading south (straight ahead) takes you to a spring and later Pano Meri. However we should turn east (left).
- A little after the intersection you will pass a few buildings. Continue to walk and you will se at your left side Despoti Nero(see photo) at a distance. The view here is great. After about 15 minutes, you reach the Y-junction where a trail leads down to Despoti Nero and its spring.
- This trail is marked with cairns, sometimes hard to discover. After about 25 minutes of a rather slow walk you reach the spring at Despoti Nero. The water is drinkable.
- In this area there are three beaches to choose from. If you follow the shore backwards (North-west) passing rocks, you will reach a tiny beach very close to a small islet. The islet is more or less connected with land by the beach. It's a two person beach. If you on the other hand continue to walk south-east by the shore from the spring, you will immediately get to a gravel beach with some sea garbage. If you continue further south you soon reach the last beach in this area after 15 minutes. The beach is stony and full of garbage, as it's very much exposed to the north.
- From the last beach, there is a trail up to the abandon settlement Ghera (see photo). You are helped by cairns even here, but they can be hard to find in the beginning. The walk to Ghera is about 30 minutes.
- At Ghera you are back on the main track that eventually leads you back to Livadia. To reach the first Y-junction that leads down to Despoti Nero and its spring, you will spend about 15 minutes. From here the path is well-known, as you walk back to Livadia. After maybe 1 hour and 15 minutes you are back from where you started.

Comments

Add New