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Evaluation:
With a surface area of only 3.8 km², and with only one village, Páno Koufoníssi
is definitely not very spectacular. The village itself has in fact just one main
street and is not really interesting; in its surroundings and along the coast
there is a lot of construction going on – a lot of rooms are built to be let in
summer. This hike is trying
to get around the island, with as main curiosities the beautiful beach of Porí
and the beautiful southeast coast.
This walk gets an evaluation of **.
[The
translation of this walk was
made with some help of Google translate - so, do not mind the mistakes...]
Estimated time: The walk
takes in actual walking
time a little less than 3 hours: the walk up to the north-west of the island
takes about 40-45 minutes, then it costs about 1h10 to reach the beach of Pori.
The last part follows the beautiful coastline of the southeast and requires
1h05.
We walked from 8.30pm until 3.00pm, this means a total walking time (TWT) of six
and a half hours - with a break of one hour at the beach of Porí ...
Route description: [If
you really want to enjoy a great day of hiking on the Small Cyclades, you should
leave early from Katápola (Amorgós): you should take the Express Skopelítis at
7.00am, preferably
the days when it does not go through Egiáli and Donoússa – this is for the
moment the case on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
You thus arrive at 8.20am at Páno Koufoníssi, from where the Skopelítis returns
to Katápola at 5.30pm.
In the morning, you can also take the Blue Star, but only on some days – in this
case, you arrive a little earlier in Koufoníssi.
Please do not forget to take in advance (in Katápola or Egiáli), your return
ticket – this is not always possible on the island of Koufoníssi!]
(0h00) From the end of the pier you take a left on
the concrete slope, on the left of the building with the notice LIMANI. The
concrete turns into gravel: you
pass under the first mill and you go up again.
The mill on your way to Parianós.
After 4-5 minutes, you reach a small concrete road, which you follow up to the
left, towards the small bay of Loutrá, with on the left a small shipyard and a
second mill.
You veer left, to surround the bay, but later you do NOT continue to the left -
this little road comes to a dead end near the mill and shipyard.
So you continue straight and up; you again arrive on gravel and after a few
minutes, you see in front of you the picturesque little harbor of Parianós.
The little harbour of Parianós.
(0h18) At the bottom, there is a
first side road on the right, just past a palm tree - this is the road you
should follow.
[Pay attention: if you continue straight a little, there is a second road to the
right.
This broad road winds along the coast and arrives after 600 meters near the
treatment plant.
But there is no path that continues from there - in contradiction with the data
on the map of Terrain Maps!]
The first gravel road on the right hand climbs gently, and veers to the left
after a little more than 2 minutes – and here, your first trail continues
straight, a grassy track that begins between two pilasters.
This trail winds to the left and across a field, then it passes left of a house
and through a breach in a wall. You will in this way cut a large bend of the
road, but after 7 minutes you will get again on that road, to the left of a few
houses.
(0h25) You follow that concrete road
to the right of course, but once arrived at a bifurcation, you go left.
Fortunately, the concrete soon becomes gravel and you continue to climb.
After 9 minutes, you see on your right the remains, painted in white, of a
(collapsed?) chapel: it is dedicated to Profítis Ilías and the altar and icon
are placed in the open!
A chapel in the open air...
(0h34) A little later, the road ends,
but a little further, there is the beginning of a path to the RIGHT of a wooden
gate, a boulder and a wall (red mark).
You should keep here a little to the right, in order to get against a wall
crowned by a metal fence.
Soon after, near a kind of gate between
two low walls (red mark), you do NOT go through the gate, but you continue to
the LEFT on the left wall.
You follow for a long time a vague path, to the left of the wall, and you pass
also on the left side of a small stable, which is about the highest point of the
region.
You have a beautiful view on Chóra, on the island of Kéros, on Káto Koufoníssi
and Schinoússa, and of course on the big island of Náxos.
The trail is vague and never moves far away from the wall, but it is for some
time completely overgrown.
After 7 minutes, you arrive on a rocky ledge, from where you see the road,
fortunately.
You descend without a real path, you pass through a breach in the wall and you
get in this way to a gravel road.
(0h43) You descend to the right, next
to an ugly refuse dump; you thus arrive at a concrete road, which you follow
down.
The road rises and falls monotonically and gets after approximately 10 minutes
to a sort of roundabout ...
near a service station (!).
(0h53) To the left of the LEFT
retaining wall, you finally discover a rather good path between walls, but from
time to time, it is hard to follow because of the vegetation.
After a little more than 5 minutes, you arrive against a wall (red mark), but
the trail continues behind the wall - you do not take a left here, but you
should continue on the narrow path behind the wall.
You keep a little bit to the left on this trail that becomes quite vague (red
mark on the ground), you pass to the right of a low wall and next to a water
tank.
You are moving on a grassy field until you arrive against a cross-wall which you
follow to the right.
The trail is almost invisible now: you get to a passage between green bushes and
you veer right again on a small triangular field - your path describes in this
way a large turn to the right..
You aim now at the highest peak of the island of Kéros: the beach of Porí
appears in front of you, you veer right again, following the wall – the Porí
beach lies now on your left.
(1h19) Again you arrive against a
wall, but you cannot pass over it.
You thus should go back a little, and you clamber over some wooden pallets in
order to arrive to a field which is situated a little lower.
You always are going STRAIGHT to the south and towards the left summit of Kéros.
You finally arrive at a track which you follow down towards the bay of Porí.
After a few minutes, the trail passes through a breach in a wall, it becomes
even more vague and gets to a cross-track.
(1h23) You continue to the far right
in order to get to the right of a field with a bunch of car wrecks.
You then take a left, behind the wrecks, and you find a passage with a gate - it
leads to a narrow road between walls, which soon gets to a concrete road.
Wrecks of cars, in the
midst of an idyllic landscape... |
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(1h27) You continue to the right for
about 4-5 minutes, then you find a track on the left – on the opposite side of a
house where many jars are exposed.
This track quickly becomes a nice monopáti that continues between walls - and
you also get a view over the bay of Porí. 
At last a nice trail, going down to the sea!
(1h37) After another 5 minutes, you
need to force yourself a passage to the right of a gate in reinforcing steel;
the trail becomes narrower, then broader again - but after 5 minutes, it ends
abruptly.
You continue without visible path on a stony plain, and, while keeping a little
to the left, you arrive at the long beach of Porí. 
The long beach of Porí.
(1h48) After a break - for a picnic
or to take a bath - you leave from the middle of the long beach and go to the
right (while facing the sea).
The beach becomes more stony and rocky, but after 5 minutes, you can move
towards right on a sandy path – you can see how the path continues on the cape
far ahead.
You pass the first cape, but in the next depression, you take a right: soon, you
get to one of the curiosities of the south-east coast of Koufoníssi, a strange
natural phenomenon, Devil's Eye. You notice a nice viewing hole through
the rocks (which could also be interpreted as an eye), but the actual devil’s
eye is a hollow in the rock on the right. At each swell of the sea, an
impressive gulf of water is pushed up through an underground passage.
Devil's Eye... 
...
and a nice natural window.
(1h57)
After this fascinating spectacle you go back for a short while to the path,
where you go left of course.
Some minutes later, beyond the third cape (with many cairns), you can again go
to the left to admire the
so-called Swimming Pool, a natural and heart-shaped “swimming pool”; the water
in this pool is very warm, because the pool is so shallow. 
The heart-shapened "swimming pool".You return again until the trail: it becomes vague and rocky, while you pass
along some nice coves.
(2h07) You thus arrive at the left of
a metal fence and yet you pass next to some beautiful rock formations.
You arrive at the small beach of Italída, you cross another cape and you still
continue along a fence, then along a wall - and you reach in this way a second
beach, the beach of Fános.
(2h20) The sandy path continues, this
time along a wall crowned by a fence; you cross another small cape and you
arrive at the beautiful beach of Fínikas.
The trail doesn’t continue on the other side of the beach, and you get to a
gravel road.
You follow this road for 7-8 minutes, then you should follow a concrete road for
another 7 minutes - all around, there are new buildings ....
(2h44) You get to the beach of Chóra
– and at the end of the beach, you can follow the edge of the water to the left
and you will arrive at the pier in three minutes.
However, if you have time, you can go up to the RIGHT, near the well, following
the paved street - you pass the bakery, and then you take a left in the main
street.
The main street in Chóra.
(2h51) You arrive in this way near
the church of Agios Geórgios.
Less than 2 minutes later, you take a left again (restaurant I Ateriasti), and
you continue until you get to the best known restaurant, Néo Remetzo.
Here you can go down to
the pier.
(2h56)
[In summer, bars and restaurants are open of course, but out of season, Chóra is
very quiet, too quiet ...
The Skopelitis
will come at about 5.30pm.]
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