ANDROS VENETIAN CASTLES TOUR -12KM

Description

The start and finish points for this tour are different, so a slightly higher level of coordination is necessary. At our meeting point, you will hand a reasonable-sized rucksack to our road crew. What you put inside is up to you, but a change of clothes, swimming gear, towel, snack, are some ideas…

We will start from the seaside remains of the Castle at the end of Andros town, also referred to as Lower Castle (Kato Kastro). Built-in 1207, soon after Andros was captured by the Venetians and up to 1566 when it fell to the Ottomans, it housed a prosperous medieval community. From there, we will follow the ancient stone pathway connecting it to the Castle of Faneromeni (or Upper Castle) at an altitude of 780 meters, through the valley of Dipotamata with the remains of ancient watermills. As the only way of communication between the two castles, this wonderful pathway is in itself a site to admire, with wonderful handcrafted single flagstones paving the way. The castle is surrounded by huge natural cliffs and stone walls and it was considered impenetrable at the time, protecting the local community from pirate raids. The view from the top of the remains of the castle is breathtaking. On a clear day, half of the Aegean Sea is visible, up to the islands if Chios and Ikaria. The Lower Castle, our starting point is also visible from there, so important messages could be communicated.

Our route from there will be downhill towards the picturesque seaside village of Korthi, our final destination. We will be met by the road crew with our rucksacks, so that we can enjoy some time in Korthi, perhaps a swim, a fruit juice, or a nice meal by the sea, depending on the time we will have. So, think of what you’d like to do, and decide about what you’ll put in that rucksack. After all that, we will join the roadcrew back to Andros town, and call it a day.

This is a private tour so you will choose the pace that suits you, especially during the uphill parts of the route, so it might get a bit slower than usual. It would be wise to have the ability to carry some water with you especially in the summer months as it can get very hot.