Our book of walks in the Lindos and Pefkos area of
eastern Rhodes was discontinued in April 2006, however we have made the text
of one walk available here on the website. This will give you a sample of the
style of our walk books.
This route was in reasonable condition at the
time of writing (April 2006), but this is Greece and this could change quickly in an area of
sometimes violent weather and the locals' fondness for bulldozers. The paths
have loose stones, and the walk is not suitable for someone with, for example,
dodgy ankles, bad knees or a serious weight or health problem.
Anyone
using this walk does so at their own risk. Although the author has used the
route described without any mishap, and has tried to describe the route as
accurately as possible, he cannot accept any responsibility for incidents
occurring during the use of this walk description.
Cairns are not
necessarily large piles of stones, they may just be a couple of stones balanced
unnaturally on a boulder or beside a path.
LINDOS
Lindos is
hot, Lindos is busy. Lindos at midday in July, with temperatures nudging the
upper forties Celsius, packed with coach loads of sweaty tourists and lines of
even sweatier donkeys is an uncomfortable place.
The village was first
inhabited some 6000 years ago, during the Neolithic period. Colonists from here
co-founded the city of Rhodes in 408BC, and, further afield, the settlements of
Gela and Agrigento in Sicily. There were destructive earthquakes in 155AD, 515,
and 1481, followed by the plague in 1498-99, but it is said to have had a
population of about 17,000 in its heyday, with the whole island of Rhodes
sometimes known as Lindos.
Lindos has a number of interesting
architectural features, but the most conspicuous are the captains’ houses with
high rooms allowing an eye to be kept on events in the harbour and at sea.
Inside the houses are Lindian beds, raised platform beds with storage cupboards
underneath. Hokhlaki mosaics of black and white pebbles are common in the
courtyards.
Walk from Lindos to the Windmill and Kleovoulos' Tomb
It is important to note that there is no shade at all on this walk
between Lindos and the tower, and vice versa. Even if you only take two items of
clothing, make one a sunhat!
From the main square, Plateia Elevtherias,
set out away from Lindos (ie up towards the main road above), but almost
immediately turn down the beach road to the right. Take care on the corner as
there may be cars, jeeps, buses or motorcycles making the sharp turn. Follow
this beach road, past the shops/cafés on your right and the first parking, then
as it bends sharply to the right. Beyond the corner and immediately to the left
of the descending road towards the beach, is an asphalt side road with a sign to
"Kleoboulos Tomb - Hellenistic Funerary Monument". The asphalt goes through a
gate into a parking area, but you go left of the gate and sign.
Take the
path to and through a further gateway, then on to where the remaining wall on
your right swings down to the right and there is an arched gate. A tap and
water- trough are in front of you. Go past, to the right of these, following the
right branch of the path. The path goes past a monument to Ioannis Zygdis
(1913-1997), runs across the hillside, above a low cliff, and out beyond the end
of the main beach. The path forks, but both paths then rejoin soon after and
swing sharply to the left to detour around a deep gully which runs down to the
sea. Follow the path to the head of this gully, where the path comes in from the
left (this is the left fork from the water- trough - you could return later by
this route, though it is now faint or overgrown in places). Turn right to go
around the far side of the gully.
Follow the path as it wanders in the
direction of the cylindrical windmill tower. There are some paths forking off,
but stay with the main one which heads towards a pair of solid gateposts. After
passing between these, the path runs alongside and to the left of a broken-down
wall. As you approach the tower you will see the spindle of the now-missing
sails. The walls appear to be in good condition but the beams and broken floors
are not, so you enter the building at your own risk. The circular staircase
seems secure enough and if you were to climb to the top then you would see part
of the wooden mechanism - the spindle, the large and small cogwheels, and a
grinding stone. The mechanism all rests on large beams, some of which look
distinctly insecure. Downstairs there is an old fireplace (and much graffiti).
The mill still operated in the early 1950's, grain being brought to it on
donkeys.
You may want to sit for a few minutes enjoying the shade of the
tower, from where you will have a view of the bay to the north of the Lindos
peninsula. Looking from left to right, there is the huge Atrium Palace hotel at
Kalathos Beach, the summit of Profitis Ilias at 900m, Massari and Malona
villages inland, and two parts of Haraki village on the coast. Immediately
behind and to the right of Haraki is the small rocky hill of Feraklos Castle,
the Knights of St John's last stronghold on Rhodes. Much higher to the right, is
the highest obvious point in this quadrant, another Profitis Ilias (512m) with a
small white summit chapel. Further to the right is the hill of Tsambika
Monastery with the darker trees on its sides contrasting with the grey-brown of
the hills around.
Looking westwards, you will see, in your onwards
direction, a rocky outcrop with a grey stone building on top. Take the path on
that side of the windmill tower and head west around the back of a small rocky
inlet of the sea. The path swings to the right, but almost immediately turns
left, inland and uphill. The rocky route - and points where it splits - is
marked by a number of cairns. The path levels out momentarily, then climbs again
to head around the left-hand side of the final mound. Within a few minutes you
should be on the summit. The curious circular building, which initially appears
to be a lookout point, is in fact a shell of stone masonry. Under it is said to
be the tomb of Kleovoulos (Cleoboulus), the comparatively enlightened ruler of
Lindos in the sixth century BC and one of Greece's Seven Wise Men, although in
fact it is several centuries younger. In Christian times it was converted to
church - probably dedicated to Agios Emilianos. This headland is Akrotiri
Milianos - look both to the left and to the right of the church at the
spectacular views down to the sea below, and then across Grand Harbour to
Lindos.
Return back down almost to the mill, but at the head of the
inlet, instead of going straight on to the tower, take the faint path that forks
off back to the right. This is on the tower side of the black stone wall. The
path heads across the headland towards the sea on the north side, but before
reaching the sea it swings off right through an opening in the wall. Ignore this
turn and head straight on towards the sea. You will come to a narrow cliff-edge
path running parallel to the coast. Follow this to the left along the coastal
cliff top, choosing the most obvious of several meandering goat-trails. The path
passes some strange manmade steps cut into the rim of the cliff. A bit further
on you should scramble down a low bank to reach a dried-up concrete water-tank.
Immediately inland from the tank is an equally dried-up well. Take care - the
large slit opening is partly concealed by shrubs. If the cooling sea is calling
you, a paddle is possible in the shallow rock-pools, though the rocks are rather
spiky. At the edge of the rock-shelves where the water deepens, there are black
spiny sea-urchins, so be careful if swimming.
Back on land, continue
along the coast to a flat courtyard, with low, soft rock walls and a central
well opening. Just beyond, the coast is at its flattest, with rocky shelves and
a spring line just behind the beach - though freshwater is not usually visible.
Go to the end of this bit of beach and, where the rocks start to climb steeply,
turn left and look for a reasonably clear path. This heads up towards a stone
wall in the direction of Lindos. When the path takes you through a gap in the
wall you should have a view of Lindos and the castle. There is another wall on
your left, leading off southwards and, next to it on the right, a path leads to
the gateway to the tower, but you can follow a shortcut path diagonally to the
right to join your original outward path.
Go right with the original
path, back to the head of the deep gully. If you came in on the main path, you
can turn right here for an alternative route back to the water- trough, however
the path is occasionally rather obscure, particularly when it passes over areas
of flat rock-surface. It goes over a small col and then runs down to the
water-trough.