8 years Paths of Greece

8 years Paths of Greece

At its 8th birthday, Paths of Greece has been presented to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Frank Walter Steinmeier during his visit in Greece

Last October, Paths of Greece became 8 years old. When it all started, it seemed an impossible attempt. During the crisis years, the birth of a financially sustainable enterprise that would work on the development of hiking trails seemed irrational to many. Often, when I had to say what my work was, I used to be replied: “And what is your main job?”. Answering “this is my main job”, to hear again: “Well, and what do you live off? Who walks today? We have cars. Why don’t you get a serious job?”

Yes, I live off that and I am happy every single day. This work fulfills me with experiences. It gives me the opportunity to meet people and places all over Greece. Together, through the trails, we develop the opportunities for financial and social amelioration as well as environmental protection. Let aside that hiking is health…

The first years passed, and what I was doing with external partners became in November 2016 the Social Co-operative Enterprise Paths of Greece, with Sotiris, Christina and Spiros acquiring specific roles within our project. Throughout these years we did work with many external partners too. With some of them, partnership became exclusive.

From our very first project, Kythera Hiking, that is being renewed this year, we never stopped getting better and learning from our mistakes. We keep doing mistakes of course, but we try not to repeat them.

What we do is to find the old mule trails in different localities working together with the locals. We then organize them in a network, based on the preferences of modern hikers, to then clear them, waymark them and promote them in Greece and abroad. It is an A to Z approach that makes sure that these trails will be “operational” for a long time. Projects like Sifnos, Serifos, Prespa Lakes, Fiscardo, Drama, Paggaio, Monemvasia followed this philosophy.

Meanwhile, we have also created and launched the Hikers Friendly Hotels certification, that recognizes hotels that offer services and facilities adapted to the hikers. Thus, the hiking experience starts from the place of accommodation, before one reaches a trail.

Our next projects, being prepared during this period, will only be announced when totally completed. We believe that they will offer an excellent realm for hiking holidays for the visitors of Greece.

Our vision is to make Greece one of the Top 10 hiking destinations in the World.

To conclude, and without forgetting the way people looked at me 8 years ago when I was talking about my “job”: On Friday October 12, 2018, I happily accepted the invitation to present Paths of Greece to the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Mr. Frank Walter Steinmeier and to the President of Greece Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, during the official visit of the former to Greece.

Fivos Tsaravopoulos

New Trails Around the World Magazine

New Trails Around the World Magazine

 

We are proud to present our new article about the trails of Kythera in the 4th edition of the World Trails Magazine “Trails Around the World”. Our article, written by Fivos Tsaravopoulos and Rigas Zafeiriou presents a 4000 years old pilgrimage route on the island of Kythera, linking two villages and 3 pilgrimage sites of different religions through the ages. You can find the article in English here, in Greek here, and the full magazine here. Under our portfolio tab you will also find further information about the Kythera Hiking project.

Miyagi Olle opening ceremony (Japan)

Miyagi Olle opening ceremony (Japan)

Miyagi Olle trail: walking towards the path of financial recovery.

The beginning of October saw the grand opening of the trail network Miyagi Olle in Miyagi prefecture of North-Eastern Honshu in Japan. Paths of Greece were invited to the opening ceremony and our representative, Sotiris Dimos, went there. As part of the opening ceremony, we hiked two of the trails and saw a sample of the beauty of Miyagi. The trails are relatively easy and go through deep vegetation of pine and bamboo, rice paddies but also the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. These are magical landscapes and very different from what we are used to here in the Mediterranean.

Despite its beauty, Miyagi prefecture has been on the news for other reasons. On the 11th of March 2011, a massive earthquake hit the Pacific Ocean 130 km East of Sendai – the capital of Miyagi – and it was recorded as a 9~9.1 magnitude on the Richter scale. The earthquake lasted 6 whole minutes. As a result, a destructive tsunami hit the Eastern coast of Japan, wreaking havoc up to 20 km inland. More than 15.000 people died, with 2.500 having been left missing. Coupled with the tragic incident at neighbouring Fukushima, the tsunami impacted the economy of Miyagi. In order to change this and bring Miyagi into a path of financial recovery, the region’s officials have invested into hiking tourism. The population of Miyagi has embraced this, as was evident by the large numbers of people who were present at the opening ceremony, which included representatives from South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia, Turkey and Greece.

Miyagi Olle is a trail network that was designed following the Olle Foundation criteria. The Olle Foundation is stationed in Jeju, South Korea in which the famous Jeju Olle trail network is located. For more information, visit the network’s webpage.

7th World Trails Conference

7th World Trails Conference

Paths of Greece has participated at the 7th World Trails Conference, that took place from September 26th – 29th, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. During the Conference, we have presented the Hikers Friendly Certification, made a lot of contacts, and worked on the creation of a World Trails Network – Mediterranean Hub! It is the 4 World Trails Conference that Paths of Greece has participated at, following our strong will to have Greece always at the forefront of the trails world. The 7th World Trails Conference has been organised by the World Trails Network, where Mr. Fivos Tsaravopoulos is Treasurer of the Board.

What is the impact of trails length

What is the impact of trails length

By the end of June, I found myself again in a favorite island, Chios, which I am closely following for the efforts they make with the hiking paths. In Chios, there are hiking routes being constructed by the ex-prefecture of Chios, there is the Association “Friends of Paths of Chios” and a Chios Hiking team. If anyone follows them, they often publish articles, news, etc. If someone is counting the hiking miles communicated at times it is stunning. The network of footpaths of the former Prefecture is approximately 25.5 km. The Amani trail network is 55 km while the efforts continue to expand. The recent hiking trail of Thymiana stone masons is about 15 km. The most recent proposal concerns a major 92 km route from the south to the north as part of the regional operational program. With the example of Chios Island and the different proposals regarding hiking paths, questions are raised on investments in the public space, how we all respect it without neglecting it as well as the overall planning required.

*Abstract of the Greek article by Christina Kontaxi. The article was first published on the Chios online magazine “Aplotaria” on July 20th, 2018.

Tourism and biodiversity in Chios

Tourism and biodiversity in Chios

An article by our member Christina Kontaxi published on the online magazine “Aplotaria” of Chios island. The article treats of how some fragile ecosystems could be protected through the correct development of hiking trails, and to what extent one should provide details about endangered species found on specific spots. The article is available only in Greek, on the Grek version of our website.

Interview with Christina Kontaxi about trails in Amorgos

Interview with Christina Kontaxi about trails in Amorgos

Christina Kontaxi, member of Paths of Greece, has been interviewed by “go-amorgos.com” about hiking tourism and the trails of Amorgos. The interview took place a few days after the YPERIA 2016 international conference organised by the hotel Aegialis Hotel & Spa. The interview is available only in Greek on the Greek version of our website.

Ηiking Trails: Tourism or forestry engineering?

Ηiking Trails: Tourism or forestry engineering?

The article is available only in Greek. It is our answer to the recent law project of the Greek Ministry of the Environment that aims to define what hiking trails are and who is responsible for them. It also treats of the guidelines for trail design, trail blazing and other matters. Our core position is that trails are mainly a matter of Tourism, as they combine nature, culture and they have a socio-economic benefit. We believe that the Ministry of the Environment should only have a consultative role on this subject.

An unforgetable day in the Peloponnese

An unforgetable day in the Peloponnese

A few months ago, I had an amazing trip in the Peloponnese with Julio, my good Mexican friend. It was Julio’s second time in Greece, and we had decided to visit the Peloponnese and Epirus region. Our aim was to get as tired as possible from walks and scenery. Our Peloponnese trip lasted four days, and we saw the canal of Isthmos, Epidavros, Nafplion with its Castle, the picturesque villages of Mt. Parnonas, Monemvasia, Geraki, Taygetos Mt., Mani, Tainaron cap, Kalamata, Polylimnion, Pylos, Gialova, Voidokoilia, Olympia, Foloi as well as the villages of Kyllini Mt.
All of them are incredible places. Full of history. Places where nature embraces you and fills you in with energy and force. The funny thing is that one can easily repeat an equally amazing “tour of the Peloponese”, without really passing from the same monuments and places! But let us leave this for another time. Every day of this trip was full of surprises, but none was as an experience as the day described below, that left to both Julio and me, a feeling of endless joy. To me, it was certainly the most beautiful traveling day I ever had.
We woke up in our tents early in the morning, to see the sunrise from the mountain hut of Taygetos at 1600m of altitude. After a quick breakfast, we started our ascend to the peak of the holy mountain of ancient Spartans. The peak is called Profitis Ilias, as well as Pyramid, from some people who believe that it was carved by the Spartans. Why would they do such useless things, I don’t know!
A few hours later, we reached the peak of the mountain, and of the whole Peloponnese, at 2407m. The views from there are endless to all directions. Our cameras were on fire, but we also had some moments of thoughts, trying to feel the energy of the place. I attempted to travel back in time, and to get the feeling of majesty that ancient Spartans would feel when reaching this holy mountain top…
Time was pressing us, and we started our descent. To make it easy to leave this beautiful place, I promised to my self that I would visit it again soon. We reached the mountain hut about two hours later, and jumped in the Lada Niva that I had once again borrowed from my father. Our direction now was the cave of Diros. I had told nothing to Julio about the size of the cave, nor about the fact that we would have a subterranean boat trip of about 1km! We explored the miraculous cavities, our eyes still eager to see new images, even more impressive than the views we had in the morning. The best part of the cave, we both agreed, was the room with the “Golden Rain”. You will see it on one of the pictures below. When we finaly saw the exit of the cave, we thought that the surprises would be over. The crystal clear waters, the dry mountains of Mani and the colorful boats that were standing there proved us that anywhere we looked, the landscape will reward us.

After Diros, and a quick swimming in the aforementioned waters, we continued the route to Vatheia, this 18th century castle village, with about 70 towers and houses, still standing on top of a hill, looking at the sea above. It is perhaps the most impressive of all tower villages in Mani, and this cost us about 150 pictures! But time was pressing for sunset, and we continued rapidly to the beginning of the path that would lead us to Cap Tainaron, the southernmost point of the Peloponnese. The path was beautiful, with small surprises here and there. We walked rapidly in order to be at the lighthouse before sunset. We made it about 25 minutes later! The sun was still there, ready to set. We were standing steel, looking at this majestic views, being at the very bottom of the beautiful Peloponnese, and recalling all these amazing moments we lived that day. Waking up on the highest peak of the region, having a boat trip inside the deepest part of the Peloponnese, and reaching its southernmost point. Three extremes, full of energy, full of hope. That was, until now, my best day of traveling.

1
2
3
4