Estimated time: The actual walking time (EWT) on the island of Despotiko is about 55 minutes for the way out and some 50 minutes for the way back.
We also made a little detour along the coast of Antíparos and we walked from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

Route description: [The car from Dolphin Apartments brought us to the jetty, opposite the restaurants of Agios Geórgios. The crossing only took us about 5 minutes.]

The day begins with the short crossing to Despotikó.

(0h00) From the jetty you keep somewhat to the right, along the ruins and you soon see a sandy track in front of you. However, you do NOT follow this track, but you walk a little more to the right, over a sandy slope, in the direction of the little trees. In this way, you reach the excavations after 3-4 minutes; they are located to the left of the far left tree. You can first see the buildings H and B, and then to the left and the right the buildings Z and C.
Towards the right in front of you, you notice a trail running alongside the coast – this is the path you will follow later on.
The largest part of the excavations is surrounded by a fence; you walk to the right of this fence and you have to walk through another fence. From the back of the excavations you can then have a closer look.

A general view of the excavations.

There is, amongst others, a sanctuary of Apollo, dating from the 6^th-5^th century B.C.; also an altar for the goddess Estia Isthmia has been found.

(0h07) About halfway the back of the fence, you can see a fairly wide, stony ‘road’ going to the right. This road does not run far away from the sea. After about 4 minutes you reach a junction and you keep to the right, still parallel to the water, in the direction of the trapezial hill in front of you.

The beginning of the road to Livádi.

(0h14) A couple of minutes later you go up the slope on the left: the track gets narrower and it turns into a real stony monopáti; it gets a little vague for a short while, but then it continues clearly towards the dip on the left-hand side of the hill with the slanting top. You notice a beautiful, rocky bay on your right and you continue straight ahead amongst the bushes – in front of you, you can clearly see the line of the path going up towards the dip. The trail is really pleasant and very obvious; when you seem to arrive at a junction, you keep going straight ahead, all the time in the same direction.

The path gets to the pass on the left of the hill.

(0h27) You thus get to the left of the hill, which is very striking because of its slanting summit and its very green slope. You continue more or less horizontally, amongst green bushes. The path curves somewhat to the right and it runs to the crest of the pass. You meander a little to the right and the left and the path gets narrower and stonier at certain places – the general direction remains very clear, though.

(0h33) At the highest point you have a great view on Antíparos, on the little island of Kimitíri in the strait and also on the island of Páros with its highest mountain with aerials on top of it.
It is very desolate and quiet here – but some 50-60 years ago, the farmers and their animals often stayed here for a couple of months (on the right you can even see the remains of a fallen down stable).
You can see the trail continuing, going up now towards a dip on the left of a conical hill. You arrive amongst rocks and then higher up, at the pass on the left of the hill.

(0h37) At this point you curve to the left and all of a sudden you can see the marvellous beach of Livádi in front of you, with the hazy shape of Síkinos on the left, Folégandros more to the right and Poliégos to the far right.

General view of the beach of Livádi.

Of course, you descend in that direction, although there is no trail. You walk on the left-hand slope and you do not descend to the right immediately. You look for the white spots between the bushes and you proceed more or less in the direction of the peculiar rock on the slope to the left of the beach. Only after 6 minutes, when you reach the dip of a little side-valley, you descend more to the right, and towards the beach. In this way you get right onto the beach, fairly easily – for the final stretch you walk on a very stony kind of surface and then there are 5 more minutes of sand. This part of the long beach is sometimes flooded. (0h54)

The nice sandy beach of Livádi.

(0h54) For the return route you first walk to the far end of the beach, for about 4-5 minutes, and then you keep to the right, amongst bushes: you go in the direction of the second of the two round hills, situated on the right-hand side of the conical hill – where you started your descent.
Gradually, the path gets more obvious and finally you walk on a clear track, which passes the dip between the two round hills – on the right of the conical hill and the two sharp hills, separating you from the beach of Livádi.

(1u09) When you arrive at the pass, Antíparos appears again in front of you and to the left you also notice the hill with the slanting top again.
You descend easily now, towards the left-hand tip of Antíparos. A couple of minutes later you keep to the left and a little further you descend even more to the left, without a trail – you finally reach the clear path you followed this morning.

(1h14) You proceed straight ahead all the time – if the trail gets a little unclear, you can descend a bit more to the left until you reach a more obvious path.
The little road becomes very clear again and you now walk rather towards the aerial on the Profítis Ilías. After about 10 minutes you get closer to the coast again. The stony trail curves to the right very gradually and in this way you can now see Antíparos over its entire length in front of you.

(1h35) You finally reach the fence of the excavations. You go a little to the left and at the corner of the excavation site you go through yet another fence and then you follow the fence of the excavations.
You keep to the left, you pass on the left-hand side of the building Z, you pass the buildings H and B and you can then see the jetty in front of you. In the strait you notice the little island of Kimitíri – the tiny island in front of the left-hand tip of Antíparos is called Nisópoulo. (1h43)

[We made an appointment with the captain of the boat, so he comes to fetch us. Usually, he also takes his guests for a trip along the south-east coast of Antíparos, where you can admire a beautiful cave and a rock-arch. He will then drop you at the jetty near Dolphin Apartments.]

Some nice views of the south-east coast of Antíparos.