Lardos to Pylona and Kalathos ~ Griffmonsters Great Rhodes Walks

Amazing panoramas on the hills above Kalathos

A 5 mile walk using tracks and roads to visit the village of Pylona

Pylona is a typical Greek village sitting in the hills behind the Mamari mountains. Unspoilt by tourism, this offers an insight into the quiet and tranquil way of life that is associated with the island. The village has a magnificent church and there are some dramatic views of the coastline as one descends back down to Kalathos

Lardos to Kalathos via Pylona - Essential Information

Walk Statistics:

Start location: Lardos
End location: Kalathos
Distance: km ( miles)
Total Gain: metre ( ft)
Total Descent: metre ( ft)
Min Height: metre ( ft)
Max Height: metre ( ft)
Walk Time:
Walk type: Linear
Walk Grade: Moderate
Terrain: Road, track and path

Maps:

The following maps and services can assist in navigating this route. There are links to printed maps and links to downloadable GPX route data for importing into navigational software and apps.

GPX Route File

Transport:

Details of public transport that is required for the walk

Rhodes Public Transport - Bus Service

Service Details: Gennadi to Rhodes Town - KTEL Rhodes Public bus service serving the East Coast of Rhodes linking Gennadi, Kiotari, Lardos, Pefkos, Kalathos, Archangelos, Afandou, Faliraki and Rhodes Town
Timetable: Available here

Route Verification Details

Date of Walk: 2017-10-12
Walk Time: 10:00 to 13:30
Walkers: Griffmonster, Kat
Weather Conditions: Bright sunshine

Walk Notes

The National Roads on the island of Rhodes have greatly improved in the 21st century. An example of the modernization of such infrastructure is the National Road 95 from Rhodes Town to Lindos which is a modern well used highway down the east coast of the island. There is also a modern highway that links Lindos through to the south of the island and leads behind the Mamari mountains to Lardos, descending down a hair pin bend and then continuing along the coast to Kiotari and Gennadi.

The highway between Lardos and Lindos passes a small village by the name of Pylona and we had walked this very road some years previous to visit said village. Despite some awesome views over the valleys from the road, it really is not the best place to be walking with a lot of fast flowing traffic. However, Pylona is a place well worth seeking out and this walk was an exploration to find a more suitable walking route.

This modern highway that cuts through the country unhindered and without apology replaced a lesser road that was full of twists and bends and that road still exists in places and forms the basis of this walk to Pylona. A question that we had fired at us on a number of occasions prior to our visit of this village was Why go to all this effort to visit Pylona?. In fact this walk appeared to be the source of bewilderment to many, locals included. As they rightly pointed out, Pylona is off the well beaten tourist route, it is not near the coast and has little in the way of facilities for any consumer oriented holidaymaker. But that is the whole point, it is off the beaten track and it is a typical Greek village. It is quiet, tranquil, peaceful. Nothing happens apart from daily life. One can wander through this place and immerse oneself into Greek culture. One visitor succinctly sums it up on the TripAdvisor website, stating the village has a taverna, a great restaurant, a couple of small shops and that's just about it. The countryside around it is great for walkers. A great place to get away from it all. Who really needs any more of an enticement. I rest my case.

At the point where the road out of Lardos junctions with the main road, there is an asphalt track that continues straight ahead with a signpost for a church and a few domestic buildings on either side. This was the old road to Kalathos many years ago and it is now returning back to nature. One can easily see why it was upgraded and modernized for such a narrow track could never accommodate today's traffic. There are a couple of other tracks that lead off on the right, one ascending to the little church that sits atop a hill. The track then bends sharp to the left and begins the ascent up to the top of the hill by a series of hair pin bends to meet the main road. At this point it is crumbling into the landscape but each leg of the hairpin reveals more and more panoramas across the flat valley that accommodates Lardos, with distant mountains forming a splendid backdrop. The bends on this track are sharp and it is quite unbelievable that lorries and buses negotiated around these at one time. This fact is not guess work, these were the words from the barman at Memories bar in Lardos. I still cant believe how the buses and lorries got up there, he related to us prior to setting off on this excursion as he mused over wisdom of our expedition.

One is soon above the church that was signposted at the start of the track, then with the final turn of the old road, just before it meets the main highway is another tiny, humble chapel. Its door sat ajar inviting passers-by to peek inside and for those that take up the offer, the sight is amazing. The interior is positively crammed full of religious icons of all shapes and sizes.

There is a short stretch of highway to walk beside before heading off on the right along the former road route. To the right of the road are the summits of the Mamari (Μαρμαρι) mountains. Behind them is the coast and Pefki. The mountains hardly seem large enough in comparison to viewing them from Pefki itself, but one has to remember that this road is already 100m up in the hills. The highest summit is over 350m and looks a lot less challenging to scale than the steep climb up from Pefki that a few tourists have boastfully attempted.

As the track bends back round to the main road there is another simple Chapel. The gates are locked so one can only stand and admire from a distance before returning to the main road and the final stretch into Pylona itself. The first sign of the village is a large roadside church where a sign proudly states in Latin alphabetic characters Monastery Archangel Michael. Monastery or church? Church or monastery? The words appear interchangeable from the Greek to English. Unfortunately, the gates are locked which is a real pity as this looks such a contemplative place to visit with a small cemetery to the rear.

Departing from the Monastery, one can take the track down the side of the bounding wall to a crossing of tracks and then take a right to follow a track into Pylona itself. It is then worth slowly wandering about the village's quiet streets. Little is going on. There are people standing talking with all the time in the world. A truck rolls up and the driver produces two chickens, handling them upside down by their legs, passing them over to a villager. There's a shop on the main street. The taverna is unfortunately closed for the day, but we had been informed of this the previous evening so we were not dispirited by the fact. True, it would have been so good to have sat there and had lunch and watch the world go and blend into the whole atmosphere of the scene but it was not to be on this walk.

At the far end of the village, at a location overlooking the main road is the magnificent church of Agios (Saint) Gerasimos with its five storey bell tower and distinctive multi coloured brick walls. The tiled roof makes way for a glorious tiled dome which is crowned with a simple cross. All around is a well tended and watered lawn where trees stand on parade and a few stone boulders sit on display. One can not help but be impressed by this monument.

It wasn't until I came to do a little research on the village, which is included as the main feature to this page, that it was discovered that Pylona has another treasure, a Mycenaean Cemetery and tombs from the 14 to 13th centuries BC. BC that is, Before Christ. These are well and truly ancient. The tombs are located outside of the main village and we very nearly coincidentally passed them on the way out towards Kalathos. I had planned a couple of options on the tracks to take out of Pylona and had opted for the one that came close, but did not actually pass by this archaeological wonder. On the positive note, this will now entail another walk to this peaceful village, another route and another expedition on another day to view these ancient marvels. And when that has been accomplished it will be inscribed onto this walk site to inspire others to follow the tracks and witness a part of Rhodes that is rarely seen by the casual tourist.

For those wishing to visit the Mycenaean Cemetery, it is located just outside of the village among the olive groves and can be accessed from a track that heads north from the village. It can be seen on Google Maps where what appears to be a concrete viewing structure is easily picked out.

The route down to Kalathos was a bit of an exploration. There are many tracks and paths on the eastern side of Pylonas and the one selected for this walk descended down the hillside roughly paralleling the main road. The intention was to pick up the bus from close to the roundabout on the National Road 95. However with plenty of time on our hands it was decided to wander into Kalathos village for a late lunch.

The track out of Pylona heads into the countryside covered in olive groves and the aroma of wild herbs waft in the air. The track leads around a gully where several tracks meet and just beyond there is a fenced compound that appeared to be confining a herd of goats amongst other things. An old decrepit van was parked inside this compound with its rear door vacantly open vertically and a goat stood on its roof. It is amazing that wherever one encounters goats, they always have to stand upon something. I accept that every mortal being stands upon something otherwise they would be in a continual state of free-fall. Generally, we humans stand upon the very earth itself, but goats have a tendency to stand upon things other sentient beings would never dream of standing upon. In this instance the roof of a van. But other instances of goat standing witnessed on our travels have been sheer drop mountain sides, precarious cliff-tops, on erratic standing stones and boulders, atop trees and now on a van roof.

The track down the hillside leads out to a viewing point where the full panorama of the coastline from the hills and mountains that surround Archangelos, across the plains where the dry river bed of the Gadoura River scars the landscape and the villages of Masari and Malona dwell, right around to the headland in front of Lindos where the Tomb of Kleobolous is situated. The scene takes ones breath away almost as much as the previous sentence may take in reciting it. The view is absolutely awesome and one cannot help but stand there taking in the view, agog and amazed. One can capture this all with a camera but the results never ever secures the rightful justice of its sheer beauty. You do need to see this with ones own eyes. Photographic representations are never good enough. It is breathtaking in its wonder. There are few places on this mortal earth that are so naturally impressive. One does feel like a Greek God looking down upon creation from up here.

The track turns into little more than a crumbling path even though there is evidence that four wheeled vehicles have used this. The descent becomes steeper and rounds a hairpin bend and the path becomes more rugged with the wheel ruts now totally gone. The final descent passes between an avenue of low overhanging trees where one has to duck to get under. On the far side of this obstruction are 10 metres of cut down branches which one has to scramble across. When confronting such an obstacle ones heart may take a leap at the thought that after all this effort it may necessitate a return back the way we came. The cut vegetation was fairly recent and although the leaves had fallen from it, it still had an elasticity that made traversing it somewhat difficult. It needed a balancing job with arms outstretched and careful placement of feet least ones foot became ensnared in the tangle. It only took a couple of minutes to get past this and there was the sense of achievement in accomplishing it although in reality it would have been preferable to not have had the obstacle there in the first place. A couple of small-holdings lay beyond this where the track curved around which did precipitate the thought that this may have been a deliberate obstacle to prevent access. Or maybe it was just not cleared away and was a job to do once the waste had decayed down.

The track leads out onto the main road and a bus stop, beyond which is the village of Kalathos with its long wide road full of shops and tavernas. It is a good place to sit down, have a bite to eat and a beer and watch the world go by before it is time for the bus back to Pefki.

All in all this was a walk of exploration, and together with the later research undertaken for this documentation it has only enhanced what was discovered. Hopefully we will be returning to Pylona again in the near future.

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Amazing panoramas on the hills above Kalathos

Directions

The route traces the former road from Lardos to Pylona, then uses tracks down to Kalathos.

Exit Lardos from the village square with Memories bar to your right, continuing down the road to the main road. At the junction go straight ahead down a asphalt track that leads through the countryside with a few dwellings on either side. Ignore all other tracks, keeping to the asphalt road. This turns a sharp left and then ascends the hill via a couple of hairpin bends. Keep to this track until it meets the main road and then continues straight ahead.

Keep to the left of the main road, where there is a broad verge, walking for 200m and then cross over the road and take the road that merges off to the right. Follow this round until it rejoins the main road and continue for a further 200m where the Monastery of the Archangel Michael is found on the left.

Take the track at the far end of the wall that surrounds this church. This leads down to a crossing of tracks. Take a right turn and follow the track into Pylona. Turn left onto the first road, then the next right to lead up to the main street through the village. Turn left onto this and walk down the hill through the village. Take the second road on the right to visit the Church Agios Gerasimos.

Follow the road around the perimeter of the church grounds and follow the resulting road back into the village. At the junction, cross straight over onto a track that leads out of the village and into the countryside. This bears round to the right, passing a sports ground. Ignore all other tracks.

After 400m there is a meeting of tracks and one needs to take the track that virtually turns back on the way you came. Follow this around for 250m until there is a track off on the right that passes some small-holdings. Keep to this ignoring all other tracks off of it. The track is easy going at first but then becomes very rough as it starts to descend down the hill. There are magnificent views across the coastline at this point. The track passes around a hairpin bend, then under a series of low overhanging trees. At the time of reporting, this was followed by 10m of broken down branches which need to be walked across.

Follow the track around, past a couple of small-holdings and then where another track branches off to the left, take that. Continue along this, taking the right fork at the junction with another track. This leads down to the road where there is a bus stop a few metres onwards.

Alternatively, one can walk into Kalathos. Rather than walking the roadside, shortly after the bus stop is access down to the ground that follows a stream running parallel with the road with access back up to the road just before the first buildings of Kalathos.

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View up the valley with Lardos on the left

Refreshments

On The Road Taverna View in Google Map

Address: On The Road Taverna
Website: https://kalathossunhotel.gr/

Quoted by travel companies as a casual street-side bar that is a real favourite with visitors, thanks to the friendliness of its owners Despina and Nikos. This roadside bar is part of the Sun Hotel and is open from breakfast through to the evening offering traditional Greek food. Seating and tables are offered outside with pool table and big-screen TV inside.

Review

Friendly little roadside taverna just up from the bus stop

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An ornamental boulder in the grounds of the Church of Agios Gerasimos

On the left The five storey bell tower of the Church of Agios Gerasimos ; On the right An ornamental boulder in the grounds of the Church of Agios Gerasimos

Features

PylonaView in Google Map

The village of Pylona has the Greek spelling of Πυλώνας which and has been Latinised in several spelling connotations such as Pilona, Pilonas and Pylonas. As a matter of consistency I have use the Pylona spelling throughout this article. The village is located halfway between Kalathos and Lardos, 100m up in the hills. Its name is said to have been derived from the word pyli which means portal or gateway, such a name being apt as the village used to be the gateway to the south of the island. These days the main road bypasses the village and most travellers probably do not take any notice of the few buildings at the roadside that marks the perimeter of the village.

The village has around 500 inhabitants, a taverna, a restaurant, two churches and a few shops. Its chief economy comes from the surrounding agricultural land which are filled with olive groves. The dominating landmark of the village is the church of Agios (Saint) Gerasimos which contains some amazing internal decoration as well as an eye catching exterior.

There is another church in the village which is dedicated to Agi (Saint) Kira and some resources reference a further Church of the Evangelism. One tourist resource even references yet another Pylona church where it quotes in a description of Pylona that The church of Our Lady is an interesting church to visit and every 25th March there are festivities centred around the church, which include cultural songs, dancing and other events.

But it is the Church of Agios Gerasimos that we must return as a lot of web resources appear to name this church as St Nicholas and it is uncertain where, when or why this confusion appears to have come about. Many of the references to St Nicholas accompany the image of the Church of Agios Gerasimos therefore it is not a case of mistaken identity, they are explicitly naming this church as Saint Nicholas. The fact that the dedication of Agios Gerasimos is used on maps and was also referenced by local people appears to establish that this is indeed its commonly recognised name. To add to this puzzle there are also references to the church of St Nicholas, which is said to have been from the 15th century, being destroyed by an earthquake in the 1920's and then subsequently rebuilt. However even the earthquake references are contentious as some quote the year 1926 and others 1928.

Referencing some academic resources such as The International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology and the Journal of Seismology it would appear that there was a powerful earthquake on 26th June 1926 which was felt over the whole of the Eastern Mediterranean region and caused destruction throughout Rhodes. The Church of Agios Gerasimos with its finely painted interiors and unworn brickwork does indicate that it is likely to have been a new build. Could the confusion be caused by the older destroyed building having a different dedication than the present? This is still an unanswered question.

These days, as well as serving the local community, the Church of Agios Gerasimos is rented out as a wedding venue for tourists. No matter what ones opinion is to such irreligious ceremonies, it does provide an income to the village church.

Another site in Pylona that is worth visiting is the Mycenaean Cemetery that is located in the countryside to the north of the village. In the late 1990s two Mycenaean chamber tombs were unwittingly discovered and a subsequent archaeological excavation revealed a total of six tombs cut into the soft sandstone rock and dating from the 14th and 13th Centuries BC. Each tomb was reached through a passageway known as a dromos and within them discoveries of pottery, bronze, jewellery and gold coins were made. One important find was a container known as a rhyton which is a conical drinking vessel used for either ceremonial or domestic use. This rhyton bore an image known as the Master of Animals, which is a motif in ancient art depicting a man grasping two animals on either side. In Mycenaean mythology this is said to represent one of the most important divinities in the whole of the Mycenaean pantheon.

All of this information was researched after the walk was undertaken and it is anticipated that a return visit would assist in establishing a few answers to the questions that it has posed as well as a visit to the Mycenaean cemetery. This page will be updated accordingly once more information has been established.

References

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Pylona

Gallery

Below are a selection of images taken from from the photo album for this walk. Feel free to browse through these or click on an image to view a larger version in the Gallery.