Ikaria Guidebook !!!

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Hello readers

I am not sorry to interrupt the series of landscapes of others because this seems to be a good guidebook for Ikaria. Our friend Alexia’s work (1) is out of print and anyway it was only in Greek. On the other hand, the A.K.K. Editions hiking map is out of sale and I know from Angelos himself that it’s not likely to publish anything as good as that about Ikaria in the near future (2). During a visit at his house and having insisted that he should, he showed me a confidential copy of the recent e-book by Charlene Caprio and Lefteris Tsouris on his computer and I liked it. I didn’t have time to read it thoroughly and I couldn’t take it home with me because the copy was code-protected but I trust Angelo’s word. It’s an honest, careful and responsible piece of work based on long field research and that was also my impression after having read the one hundred PDF pages diagonally. The texts are to the point without unneeded literature and the maps are bold, nicely colored, clear and helpful. But the best thing about this Guidebook is the emphasis on hiking. I took a note of how the authors put it:

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«We believe that the best way to understand Ikaria is by exploring the island’s footpaths called ‘monopatia‘. Spanning over 150 km in a configuration akin to a giant spider’s web over the island, Ikaria’s footpaths evolved over hundreds of years. Many of them connect remote villages with rivers, watermills, forests, mountain peaks, sea areas, more natural elements and other villages. The footpaths also reach areas inaccessible by vehicles and traverse the mountain’s inner folds. By exploring the footpaths, you will start to discover Ikaria’s unique environment and culture…»

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As I couldn’t agree more, I also took note of the titles of the ten hiking routes recommended, mapped and described by the two authors in the last and longest part of the edition. The photos of Peter Wan who contributed in the edition are stunning and you can see some in the webpage of the e-book, however to introduce these hikes I prefered to use photos either from our blogs or the ones taken in the course of time by the members of the Mountain Climbing and Hiking Club of Ikaria. Those people are, after all, the volunteers who explore and discover, design, walk and maintain the mentionned footpaths. The authors duly acknowledge their contribution and by the way, so am I on a more personal level. If not for them and their endless discoveries, perhaps my passion for Ikaria wouldn’t be so strong.
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• Chalares River Canyon (Christos – Nas) walk.

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• The Spanaioi Watermill with additional walk to a Reservoirs and the Monastery of Mounte.

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• Pezi, Ryakas Waterfall and Selini pond walk.

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• Ranti Forest Walk, Herbal and Cave Walk.

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• Koskinas Castle and Mt. Atheras Cliff Walk.

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• Mt. Atheras Ridgeline Hike (reaching Ikaria’s highest peak).

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• Ikaria’s Western Edge, Remote Seaside Villages and «Kavo Papas» Lighthouse Walk.

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• Ikaria’s Eastern Edge – Drakano Tower, Agios Georgios and the WWII Bunker Walk.

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• Ikaria’s Eastern Edge – Agia Kyriaki Hot Spring / Iero Beach.

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• Ksylosirtis (Papas) Watermill and Lefkada Hot Spring.

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Visit their webpage

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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(1) Alexia and her «Unexplored Ikaria & Fournoi»

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(2) Trail Network Shutdown

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