Karpathos: Hiking and folklore paradise

After your arrival on Karpathos you will be transferred to your hotel in Pigadia in app. 20 minutes. Depending on your arrival time, you have time to explore the nice town of Pigadia or you can opt for an afternoon walk via dirt roads and quiet tarmac roads.

Challenge: 2.5 hours, 10 km / 6 mi, 240 / 10 m ascent, 240 / 340 m descent 

You will be picked up at your hotel and driven to the north of the island. You will pass by overwhelming scenery: green valleys, forests and impressive steep mountain ranges. During the entire route you will enjoy splendid sea views. 

Optionally you can go on foot for the last 5 kilometer to Diafani, a pleasant walk via a forested river bed. On your arrival at Diafani, there are 2 options for a walk to a beach. 

Challenge: 1 / 2.5 hours, 4 / 9.5 km, 250 / 280 m ascent, 250 / 280 m descent

In the morning you will go on board of a small boat (Kaiki) and travel for 30 minutes to the secluded beach of Forokli. This beach is only accessible by jeep, on foot or by boat and usually you are the only ones there. You walk inland via a beautiful trail along a river bed. Even in the hot summer months there is water in this stream. The flora in spring is really overwhelming. Via an old chapel and dirt road you walk back to Diafani.

Challenge: 3.5 hours, 10 km / 6 mi, 400 m ascent, 400 m descent

Leaving Diafani you walk inland via an authentic paved mule track (kalderimi) and come to the agricultural hamlet of Avlona. Here time seems to have stood still and the land is still cultivated by hand in a very traditional way. There is a small tavern and after a break you continue todays trek via an ancient path until the ancient town Vrykous, now called Vroukounda. This Mycenaen City was an important settlement until the 7th centure AD, but because of attacks by Saracen pirates its inhabitants moved to mountainous areas and established Olympos village. The place is now desolated; ruins and an interesting chapel in a cave make Vroukounda an amazing site. 

You ascend via the same track back to Avlona and now continue via paths to the mountain village Olympos. This village with only 450 inhabitants is a living museum in itself. It has retained an old fashioned way of life where primitive customs still play an important role.

Challenge: 7 hours, 20 km / 12,5 mi, 975 m ascent, 750 m descent

Today you make a round walk of app. 4 km / 2,5 mi in the surroundings of Olympos. Though the walk is short, there is lots to see on the way, such as abundant flora, hidden churches and a pretty well in a green setting. During this walk you will come to understand how the locals work in their fields. 

Before the walk you may explore the impressive village of Olympos with its narrow alleys, cute local shops and traditional ovens and hidden churches. 

Challenge: 2 hours, 4 km / 2,5 mi, 350 m ascent, 350 m descent

The walk from Olympos to Spoa is the longest walk of this tour, and definitely the most impressive one too. You walk along the spine of the mountain range of Karpathos all the way from Olympos to Spoa, the village that is located in the narrowest section of the island. Quite often you will see the sea on both sides of the island! 

From Olympos you walk on a well-kept kalderimi (paved path) to a fertile valley. You pass by some farmhouses and agricultural terraces and through a pine forest. You will enjoy great views over the mountains and the dramatic coastline. 

Then you descend via a stony path to the village Spoa. Whilst enjoying a refreshment in the local café, you wait for your transfer per taxi to the village of Lefkos where you stay overnight. You may dine near the hotel or walk down to the secluded bay of Lefkos for a dinner in a seaside tavern. You may ask the hotelier to pick you up after dinner at a small additional cost.

Challenge: 7 hours, 19 km / 12 mi, 880m ascent, 800m descent

You come along a Roman archaeological site with a basilica and mosaics and ascend via a kalderimi on the slopes of mountain Profitis Ilias (1.160m) to the mountain village of Mesohori. After lunch in the local tavern here, you may ask the owners to take you back to Lefkos, or you can return on foot via the same way.

This possibility allows you to have an afternoon on the nice sandy beach of Lefkos.

Challenge: 5 hours, 16 km / 10 mi, 450m ascent, 450m descent

You will have a transfer to the airport for your departure. Lefkos is also a lovely location to extend your trip for a few more nights.