In April 2022, we spent several weeks on Skopelos, one of the islands of the Northern Sporades. We rolled up our sleeves to keep the island’s ancient kalderimi clear. In between work, we discovered that Skopelos is an excellent destination for hiking.
Wait, what are kalderimi?
For many centuries, Greeks lived on their islands without cars. Believe it or not, dear friends: to get anywhere, they had to walk. And so footpaths developed, connecting villages, water sources, vineyards, fields, monasteries and churches. At first, these were mere dirt paths. But gradually, they were paved over with small cobblestones. The network reached the furthest corners of the island.
“When the car arrived, the islanders were so happy – finally, they didn’t have to walk anymore”, said Heather Parsons, a British emigre who has lived on Skopelos for over forty years. “Until they started getting strokes. Before that, they drank like fishes and smoked like chimneys, but they didn’t have the same health problems. Though they preferred to swear off booze and cigarettes rather than to start walking again.”
Without ample walking feet to keep them maintained, the kalderimi fell into disrepair. In the best case, they got overgrown by plants, in the worst bulldozed or concreted over. Only Heather cared about the paths. Under the guise of NGO Skopelos Trails, she started researching old routes, and mapping and clearing them. At first, she went out on her own with pruning scissors and chainsaws, afterwards she hired a cohort of Workaway volunteers. We joined her for two weeks.
How was it to volunteer on Skopelos?
For hikers like us, clearing trails was a lesson in humility. It made us reflect on the monumental work required to keep hiking paths in shape. Trail maintenance is repetitive, taxing on joints and it makes scratches on your arms and legs. We cut and sawed, chopped and dragged. But the work also brought tremendous satisfaction. If, after a day or two of hard physical labour, you can once again walk a path without being the object of unexpected attacks from overhanging branches or prickly plants, it’s truly the cherry on the cake.
Talking about cherries: we shared some work sessions with a local volunteer called Ceresia, an expert raker. Which brings us to the point – we did not work alone, but in a motley crew of volunteers – the retired Norwegian banker; the Greek Swiss, as hard-of-hearing as he was hard-working, and ever eager to get to work with a chainsaw; the clumsy German. In the evening, Heather conjured up the most delicious vegetarian meals for everyone who had participated that day.
Is the hiking any good on Skopelos?
You bet! Reputed to be the greenest island in the Aegean Sea, Skopelos is a great place for long hikes. You’ll find coastlines and bays, small villages, monasteries, Byzantine chapels, olive groves and dense forests of Aleppo trees.
Supposedly, Skopelos has at least 100 kilometres of hiking trails – some official and signposted, others requiring a bit of improvisation. There are plenty of options: from the loop trails marked by the municipality (red signs with T1 to T5; upon our visit, rumours circulated that this system would be expanded) to the trails that Heather has outlined. For the latter, check below ‘maps and resources’.
Heather also organises regular hikes. These are announced on the Facebook page of Skopelos Trails. Everyone is welcome to join, free of charge. It’s a lot of fun, mainly because of the mixed crowd it attracts – from locals to expats, from volunteers to the occasional tourist.
Read more about our experience on Skopelos and Ikaria.
A few hikes on Skopelos we enjoyed
1/ Mount Palouki (12 kilometres, 600 altitude metres)
If Skopelos really does resemble a saxophone, then Mount Palouki is the bell. Few people live in this vast mountainous area in the east of the island – apart from an abbot in a monastery here and there – and so there is all the more room for nature. Starting and ending in Skopelos Town, this hike is an excellent option for those not keen on taking a bus. From the village, we walked past orchards and small churches, straight onto the mountain. The top offers great views over the turquoise sea, ferries passing by and towards the snow-capped mountains on Evia. This area has quite a few monasteries, some of which open their doors to the public at set times. In the company of Heather’s gang, we walked 12 kilometres on paths that were not always clear. If you’re unsure, use the gpx.
2/ Skopelos – Stafylos
I’m not mentioning distance or altitude metres for a reason. We didn’t follow the official trail, which should be quite straight-forward. Instead, we opted for an adventurous alternative route – via a monastery, along a steep overgrown path where we found animal bones, through a dense forest steeply down towards the coasts, then over coastal flanks. Needless to say it was adventurous, perhaps too much so. The official trail should be nice though. Stafylos is sheltered, surrounded by pine trees and has a sandy beach with clear water.
3/ Coast to Coast (19,6 kilometres, 750 altitude metres)
Another group hike led by Heather. Contrary to what the name suggests, we did not make it all the way to the other coast. By now, you know what to expect: narrow trails through pleasant countryside, passing olive groves, purple strawberry tries and tiny chapels.
4/ Glossa – Lighthouse Cape Gourouni – Glossa (13,6 kilometres, 500 altitude metres)
Don’t give the map to the clumsy German, for he’ll forget to read the small print. In this case, that the trail to the lighthouse on Cape Gourouni hasn’t been cleared yet. We fought our way through the thicket. Don’t follow our example, unless you want to get free tattoos (i.e. scratches) all over your limbs. If you’re based in Skopelos Town, Glossa is on the other side of the island. A bus runs between the two towns a few times per day (€4,8, April 2022).
5/ Trans-Skopelos: Paleo-Klima – Skopelos Town (24,6 kilometres, 850 altitude metres)
If you have time to hit the hiking trails on Skopelos only once, let it be this hike. On the bus from Skopelos Town to Glossa, ask the driver to drop you off in Paleo Klima (€3,9, April 2022). This small village was destroyed by an earthquake in 1965 and mostly abandoned by its inhabitants. From the road, turn onto the kalderimi – don’t forget to admire the work we did here back in 2022 – and head into the endless forests. In the centre of the island, you’ll barely encounter a single soul – apart from herds of goats.
We ate our sandwiches on top of the old fire watch tower of Delphi, the highest point of Skopelos. The tower offered glorious panoramas over the Aegean Sea on both sides. Down and up again, to Sentoukia – stone-carved Neolithic sarcophagi that could or could not have once belonged to pirates. After an adventurous descent, the beach of Glysteri awaited for a refreshing dive. Small roads through orchards and past old churches brought us back to Skopelos. All in all, a hike with lots of variety.
If this sounds like too much, you can also do a shorter part of it. For example: from Skopelos Town to Glysteri and back (this is the official hike T3) or onwards to the Sentoukia.
Tips for hiking on Skopelos
>> Make sure to bring enough food and water. There are very few villages to re-supply. You might pass water sources – they are marked on maps – but it’s better to err on the side of caution, especially in the summer.
>> Some trails are walked rarely and may be overgrown or hard to find, others are very rough and rocky. Wear sturdy hiking shoes (at least category B) on Skopelos to avoid accidents.
>> Regardless of the season, wear a sun hat and carry sunscreen.
Maps and resources for hiking on Skopelos
>> We used a detailed (1:25.000) map of Terrain Maps, which is for sale online or on Skopelos – ask around.
>> Heather has published a guidebook in which she explains several hiking options in detail. She uses a unique style, which requires some getting used to, but it’s a valuable resource to get inspired. Buy online or track her down on Skopelos (not difficult).
Where to stay on Skopelos?
We stayed in two different places, both in Skopelos Town. Before we started our volunteering experience, we stayed in Sotos – a small-scale pension in a 150-year-old building, with charming rooms, pine wood floors, a common kitchen and a patio with a lemon tree. Afterwards, we were lodged in Rigas Hotel Skopelos, just out of town. This hotel is bigger and less personal, but still a good and relatively cheap option. Given the choice, we’d prefer to stay in Sotos. There are plenty of other options in Skopelos Town.
It’s worth knowing that Heather provides accommodation for volunteers – either in her own home or in a hotel in town. (Update: apparently, volunteers nowadays have to contribute to their accommodation).
How to get to Skopelos?
If, like us, you’re not keen on taking flights, there are two options to get to Skopelos:
>> Take the ferry from Volos to Skopelos Town. We used this option for the outward journey. The trip took 4,5 hours and cost us €28,5 one way per person (April 2022).
>> Take the ferry from Ayios Konstantinos to Glossa. Buses connect Ayios Konstantinos – on the island Evia – with Athens. We used this option for the return trip. The time on the ferry is much shorter – 2h15 – although the bus to Athens takes time, too. The journey cost us €37,9 one way per person, including the bus from Skopelos Town to Glossa and from Ayios Konstantinos to Athens (April 2022).
Online information about ferries is scattered and can be intimidating and hard to understand for foreigners. We found that simply stepping into a booking office (in or near ports) made things easier. The office workers can give you all the options. If you want to figure things out by yourself, Direct Ferries is a good place to start.