Walk to Tripiti
This is a beautiful coastal walk leading to the steep hill that you can see to the East of Sougia. The walk is on a reasonably good, well-marked path with plenty of shade but it is quite long (around 4 hours) so going there and back in one day can be very tiring. An easier option is to go by boat to Tripiti and return on foot to Sougia.
We will describe the walk from Tripiti back to Sougia but you can follow it in reverse.
If you go by boat you may land in Tripiti in one of two
places: if the sea is very still the boat will land you
right at the entrance of the Tripiti gorge. If there are
any waves, even small ones the boat will have to land a
little further east. In this case make your way along the
coast to the entrance of the gorge. You have to clamber
a little on rocks but will see some markings that you can
follow. It takes about 10 minutes to the entrance of the
gorge of Tripiti.
You will see two houses, a small chapel and next to it
a cistern. Walk past them and straight up the gorge for
about 15-20 minutes. The path is marked with cairns. Keep
an eye on the slope to your left (west) because at some
stage you will have to turn left and walk up a fairly steep
scree slope. The turn is marked (but not always visible
to the untrained eye) and there is a small path leading
up (it is also marked at irregular intervals with E4 poles).
If you walk in the gorge for longer than half an hour,
you have missed the ascent point and need to turn back
and look for it. The zigzag ascent to the saddle is steep
and quite tiring but when you reach the top you are rewarded
with a beautiful view of the bay of Sougia and the coast
stretching towards Agia Roumeli.
Walk past the ruined Venetian fort and head a little further
up (south) on a small path. After about 10 minutes you
will reach the ancient chapel of the Prophet Elias, 400
meters above the sea and can enjoy the superb view, one
of the best on the south coast. There is a cistern by the
chapel if you need water but beware, it is not spring water
but collected rain water so it may not be that clean.
Return by the same path to the saddle and head down westward
(right where the stone column is). The path is visible.
You will notice remains of terraces: these are the remains
of the ancient town of Pikilassos. Once you reach the shade
of the trees the path becomes a little better. You soon
get to an unusually large oleander bush. Note that right
next to it is a tiny spring. Its output is so small that
it may take you 15 minutes or more to fill your bottle
but it is the only water until you reach Sougia so make
use of it if you are running low. This spring may dry up
in summer. Keep going down, trying to follow the path.
Some large trees have fallen down in the last years so
it is not always easy. Eventually the path levels off and
takes a more definite westward direction. Follow it as
it snakes along the contours of the mountain. The path
never goes down to sea level but keeps going up and down.
On the whole it is marked and quite easy to follow. Should
you loose it, just retrace your steps and look more carefully.|
After about 90 minutes to 2 hours from the saddle where
the fort is located the path turns north into a small gorge
for about 10 minutes then climbs up in zigzags on an old
mule track. Once on top it levels off again and carries
on up and down for a good hour. You will notice that there
are more and more remnants of cultivation, old terraces
and olive trees and eventually you reach a dirt road. You
can follow this road all the way to Sougia or you can search
for markings which indicate the old path which is more
direct. Don't worry if you miss the markings and need to
follow the road, it will only extend your walk by about
half an hour and you will eventually get into the river
bed which runs east of Sougia and down to the sea.
For those who want to start from Sougia: do not try to find the start of the path along the coast, you would end up having to climb in some loose and dangerous cliffs. The path starts about 300 meters up the river bed and immediately to the left of the only house located on the east side of the river. Follow the markings carefully until you get to the dirt road then walk to the end of it and you will find the continuation of the path easily.
Please note:
- Take plenty of water with you. On a hot day you might
need to drink as much as 3 litres.
- Although there are generally some other walkers on this
route, it might not be a bad idea to let someone know where
you are going on the day should you hurt yourself or loose
your way.
- You will return with the sun shining in your face so
don't forget suncream and sunglasses.
Photos of the walk to Tripiti
