Μilina-Chondri Ammos-Valtoudi

Chondri Ammos

Distance: 12,6 km
Time: 3.40' (walking time 3.20')
Altitude: from 0 m. (Milina) to 245 m. (max) to 0 m. (Valtoudi)
Total elevation gain /loss: 410 m.
Signed with: round yellow signs and red paint marks
Drinking water on walk: no
Download GPS track (gpx):   from Wikiloc  

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        This walk goes from the sea of Pagasitic gulf to the Aegean and back. It is almost circular, as start and finish are 2,8 km away on the coastal main asphalt road. It is best to walk in May-June or September-October, when the sea is warm enough (a swim at Chondri Ammos is a must do), but the sun is not too hot, as a large part of the walk lacks shade. At Valtoudi there are two tavernas for food and drink.

UPDATE May 2024: After the flooding of Sept.2023 at the Koumani stream the terrain has changed dramatically, the stream width has doubled. We elected a slightly different route in the first part, as seen here, because of a blocked path near Pighes. Also, the path that descends from the pen to Chondri Ammos is overgrown , but you can still pass with a bit of difficulty. It seems that even the shepherd doesnt bother to clean it any more. Despite these problems, we were able to do this walk, feeling a sense of satisfaction that fully compensated for any inconvenience.

          Starting from the church of Milina on the seaside, we walk on the asphalt road that goes to Lafkos. After 600 m. we see the kalderimi to Lafkos on our left side and follow it. Soon it crosses the asphalt and continues between stone walls (pezoules). There are some stretches of newly built stone path. Reaching the asphalt again, we walk on it and after about 300 m. we see on the left the continuity of the kalderimi. Attention, we do not take that but continue on the asphalt. Further on, the asphalt road takes a sharp left turn. At that point we leave it and continue straight ahead on an agricultural road. After a little while, we notice another chapel on the left bank of the road just above us, the Epano (Upper) Ai Giannis. Here comes a kalderimi from the cemetery of Lafkos, so the village of Lafkos could serve as an alternative start for our walk (see the walk Lafkos-Platanias westerly route).

Walking next to Koumani Rema stream

                                                               We continue on the road, which runs parallel to the Koumani stream bed, going past two junctions with an uphill road to the left. After the second junction, we are walking into the streambed, which after the floods has doubled its width. 
       At some point, the path  starts to climb on the right bank of the stream (attention, we now walk on proper path and NOT on streambed!) and eventually opens to an open flat area, called Pente Alonia (''five threshing floors''). Here we join an earth road to the right, and continue on a southwesterly direction. After about a kilometer we meet a junction and go left. In about 600 m. there is another junction. Here we go right and in a few meters we notice the path branching off to the left downhill.

Seeing the Aegean Sea

         Following  that path, a small stream starts to appear on our left side and soon we can see the Aegean sea at a distance. After a couple of zigzags, the path opens into an olive grove and disappears. Walking empirically in the same direction for a short distance, we come to a hut and enter an earth road. This joins another road in a T-junction. To the left, that leads to Mikro beach. We turn to the right (to the west) and follow the road until it comes to end at the pebbly beach of Chondri Ammos, in about 2,5 hours from the start of the walk. A few summer cottages line the beach. In antiquity, this was one of the two ports of the ancient city Olizon, mentioned in Homeric poems (the other port was at Valtoudi-Mavri Petra). Some ruins of Olizon may still be seen at the nearby hill ''Paliokastro''.

Chondri Ammos

        After a refreshing swim in the crystal clear sea, we put on our hiking shoes again and walk along the beach. On the other side an uphill earth road begins. At the next two junctions we take the road to the right, At the next three junctions we go left uphill, following the red marks. From certain points we enjoy really nice views over the sea.

Leaving Chondri Ammos

         At the top, there is an olive grove on our left side. Reaching a derelict hut, we take a downhill path to the right. Descending into the olive grove, we soon reach an earth road, which we follow downhill. Keeping an eye for the red marks on the right side, after a little while we find a path section, descending parallel to the road, below on the right. This opens to an earth road on a sharp turn-junction and we take the left branch, decending gently on a northerly direction. That road opens to the main coastal road, at the mooring site called Valtoudi, next to the two tavernas that operate there.

Valtoudi

       If we follow the asphalt for another 2,8 km. to the right (north), we will return to the starting point of our walk.

Milina-Kidonies-Piges

Distance: 6,5 km
Duration: walking time 2 h, total time 2,5 h
Altitude: from 0 m. (Milina) to 290 m. (maximum)
Signing: small round signs, red paint marks
Drinking water on walk: no

 Download GPS track:   from Wikiloc   from Everytrail

     This is an easy circular walk starting and ending in Milina, half of which is on a recently opened path (in 2013) between the settlements of Kidonies and Piges. It would be better to do this walk between the autumn and spring, as the low altitude and sparse shade give little protection from the heat of summer. 

 

      Setting off from the church on the seafront at Milina, we initially follow the asphalt road that goes towards Lafkos. After about 600 metres on the asphalt, we turn off to the right onto an earth road and cross the bridge at Koumanorema stream. We continue uphill in a southerly direction, passing a five-a-side (5X5) football pitch. At a crossroads about a kilometre further on, we turn left onto the road towards Kidonies and continue uphill. However, before we take this turning, it is worth walking 50 metres along the road to our right to visit the chapel of Aghios Nikolaos (the key for the church door hangs in the top right-hand corner).

Agios Nikolaos chapel at Kidonies

     Returning to the crossroads and continuing up the road, we soon reach the settlement of Kidonies: a few houses amongst olive groves, a spring water drinking fountain and a water tank with a plane tree. We continue gently uphill on the road to the left. Higher up, the road bends to the left and immediately afterwards we turn right uphill at a crossroads. From this point, we can see the villages of Milina, Horto, Metochi and, further to the right, Lafkos.

Looking down to Milina. Chorto and Metochi at a distance

      The earth road ends in an olive grove and we continue to the left on the newly-cleared path, which initially has a dry stone wall on its right. In a short while, we enter a stretch shaded by trees, going uphill in a southeasterly direction, and cross a small stream.
 

A recently cleaned section of the path

      We soon reach an open spot, from where we can see Lafkos opposite. Continuing on the path, we reach a crossroads with a signpost. From here, the path straight ahead to the south leads to Hondri Ammos and Mikro beaches, while that to the right appears to lead towards the top of nearby hill Sila (326 m). We choose to turn left towards Piges and soon start to go gently downhill in a northerly direction. In the distance we see the Pagasitikos Gulf and the village of Milina. 

View of Lafkos from the path

 

  We pass next to a ruined building (possibly used for making lime) and come out into an olive grove. Continuing in the same direction for a few metres, we reenter the path which, a little further on, is bordered by dry stone walls. The path eventually comes out onto an earth road, which we follow downhill to the left amongst olive groves.
 

Spring at the olive grove

 We pass the small church of Aghios Georgios and the spread out houses of the settlement of Piges and in a little while cross the Koumanorema stream and find ourselves on a narrow asphalt road, which leads us to the main asphalt road Milina-Lafkos, a few metres further up from the point at which we left it at the beginning of our walk. 

Milina-Lafkos

Distance: 7,1 km (with return)

Duration: 2 hours (with return)

Altitude: from 0 m. (Milina beach) to 300 m. (Lafkos square)

Signed with: small round yellow signs

Drinking water on walk: yes (Panagia Mesosporitissa chapel)

Download GPS track:  from Wikiloc    from Everytrail      

      This circular walk is one of Pelion`s finest, considering that we walk mostly on kalderimi in a landscape of intense natural beauty. As there are two main kalderimis between Lafkos and Milina, north and south, we propose climbing from the seaside to Lafkos using the latter and returning by the former. This is a walk suited to all people, even those who are not accustomed to hiking, who will be pleased to follow the downhill route at least.

      Starting from the church of Milina on the seaside, we walk on the asphalt road that goes to Lafkos. After 600 m. we see the kalderimi on our left side and follow it. Soon it crosses the asphalt and continues between stone walls (pezoules). There are some stretches of newly built stone path. Reaching the asphalt again, we walk on it for about 300 m. and, after a right turn, we find again the kalderimi on the left side. As we continue uphill, lush vegetation often forms a shady tunnel into which we walk.

     Approaching Lafkos, the kalderimi opens to a concrete road. We turn left and after 100 m., as the road starts going dowhill, we continue uphill to the right on kalderimi (the first few meters of which are concrete), that opens to a flat stone paved street. We follow it to the left and soon find ourselves at Lafkos square. Next to the church is the museum of paintings by the important Lafkos-born painter Dimitris Fambas.

      Now comes the time to return to Milina. There are a few steps at the main street of Lafkos square. At that point we head downhill, noticing the round yellow signs at the corner. Reaching a concrete road, we turn right. The road soon becomes a wide kalderimi and then we have Paliovrisi fountain on the right, next to a huge plane tree. We cross a stream over a small stone bridge overgrown by vegetation, and then ascend on kalderimi for a little while. After a crossing with an ascending kalderimi to the right, which comes from the church of Agia Paraskevi, we now walk downhill on road-kalderimi. Soon the earth road turns right, but we continue straight ahead on the kalderimi, seeing lovely views of Pagasitikos gulf on the horizon.

Panagia Mesosporitissa

      Further down, we reach Panagia Mesosporitissa church, also called Monastiraki by locals. Next to the church is a fountain and a few cypresses. This is a good spot for a short break. The kalderimi continues to descend and finally opens to a concrete road, which we follow, having just entered Milina. We cross a stream and then follow its course on its left bank for a while. The road gets covered by asphalt. At a crossing we head right on Ethnikis Antistaseos street, that soon opens to the seafront at the location of a dock. Here we turn left, to get back to our starting point at the church.

Descending to Milina