New Routes 2

Vafios to Petri via ¨Ανω Λιγώνα

This walk links the two hill villages of Vafios and Petri,
using a 'secret' path down into the upper Ligona valley (the 'Valley of the Mills'),
which although marked on the Municipality of Petra's booklet and maps of the valley,
has not yet been cleared or way-marked.
The path is easy to follow though overgrown for much of the way -
prepare to be scratched by aggressive vegetation objecting to the disturbance!

Walking time:- about 1 hour 30 minutes

Starting from Vafios:-
From the bend in the main road near Taverna Vafios and the bus stop,
walk up the steep paved street into the village, and follow it round to the right
past the church on the right and the cafenion on the left.
Continue up this street to the end of the village,
when it becomes a concrete road leading over the mountain to Stipsi.

Follow the road as it bends right and climbs past the village cemetery.
The concrete ends, and after ten minutes there is a dirt road dropping away to the right
(this is the 'Vafios Bypass'! - it leads down to the Vafios-Molivos road at the bottom
of the village). Carry straight on, and five minutes later cross the ridge at a narrow gap
 known locally as Portas (Πόρτας - doorway). 

Walk downhill for ten minutes until you reach a sharp left-hand bend.
Take the concrete track leading back down to the right,
then keep on the rough track to the left of the gate ahead.
After five minutes you will come to a farm gate; go through and continue on
the path ahead, ignoring the one running downhill to the right.

The path leads alongside a wall on the left, and soon goes left through a gap,
then right again to continue on the other side of the wall.
There are spectacular views down across the Petra plain to the sea, with closer at hand
in the next valley two green buildings belonging to a local honey producer.

The path swings left behind a crag
and begins to descend along a rough stony stretch.
  Take the time, however, to go to the edge
of the small plateau beside the cragfor the view
down into the Ligona valley;
far below on the opposite side can be seen the track
leading towards Petri, where you will shortly be walking.

Carry on down the path, with a high wall on your left,
and then bend right, now with a wall on the right.
The path now winds downhill for about fifteen minutes,
and finally emerges at an acute angle onto a wider
and better defined path.
Turn right on to this path, pass a yellow trekking trail logo,
and follow it for about fifty metres, with a stream bed down to your left,
until you reach a small open area with a large rock shaped like a shark's fin facing you.

(At this point, instead of continuing to Petri, you can continue on the path
to the right of the rock, which follows the line of the old water-course through
the Valley of the Mills, past many of the ruined watermills,
and eventually leads to the inland road from Molivos to Petra.
Alternatively you can head upstream for about thirty-five minutes -
of which thirty will be in the stream-bed itself,
to return to the Vafios-Stipsi road further up the valley,
where a left turn and another forty-five minute walk will see you back in Vafios)

To your left, in front of the rock, there is a small path leading down to the stream.
There should be blue paint, and possibly red diamond metal waymarks here,
but these tend to disappear with time and weather.
Go down this path, cross the stream, and climb the opposite bank.
After a few metres the path here widens into a track leading fairly steeply uphill.
Follow this for about fifteen minutes to a ridge, with a cattle trough on the left,
and a concrete road dropping steeply away to the right. 

Continue on the dirt road ahead for another fifteen minutes to reach Petri.
There are two tavernas awaiting you here, the original Petri Taverna,
a few metres down a street to the right as you walk through the top of the village,
and, on the right as you walk down towards the road to Petra or Stipsi,
the new (in 2008) Achilles's Well,

This booklet is available from the Tourist Information Office
on the seafront road in Petra.

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