Circular Walk in the Hills above Lothiarika Beach
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Friday, 8 July 2022
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Circular Walk in the Hills above Lothiarika Beach
A circular walk into the hills above the coast at Lothiarika Beach
You dont have to go far from a resort to experience the wildeer side of Rhodes. This walk takes a track that leads off the road between Pefkos and Lardos. You travel back in time to old farm buildings and flocks of sheep in the hills above the coast. Glorious!
NOTE
This is a walk summary intended to provide the user with just the essential information in order to navigate the walk route. Fully detailed information notes, refreshment stops and walk features are not included in this. A full write up will be included in the near future.
Circular Walk in the Hills above Lothiarika Beach - Essential Information
Walk Statistics (calculated from GPX):
- Start location: Lothiarika
- Distance: km ( miles)
- Total Gain: metre ( ft)
- Total Descent: metre ( ft)
- Min Height: metre ( ft)
- Max Height: metre ( ft)
- Walk Time:
- Walk Grade: Medium
- Terrain: Track, Road
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
Route Verification Details
- Date of Walk: 16/10/2023
- Walk Time: to 11:00:00
- Walkers: Griff, Kat
- Weather Conditions: some clouds but lots of sunshine and warmth
Walk Notes
Lothiarika beach is the beach at the western side of Pefkos on the road to Lardos. We start and end at the Taverna Periklis which is on the main road. The path starts 150m away on the Pefkos side of this Taverna, on an access road alongside the Amouth Luxury Villa. This leads around the villa and past several other villas as the road turns to a track and twists around and a steady rise up the hill. There is then a steep rise on a rugged track that leads you up to the wilder side.
The tracks are clearly defined and one has to take the right hand turn at each junction. A shorter walk can be achieved by taking the left which short cuts the walk but given the views and wild scenery why would you want to. A navigation app using the GPX file from this page can provide that little bit of confidence that one is never lost.
There are old farm buildings, still lived in by and recognition of passers by is made, either a friendly spoken 'kalimera' or a wave from behind a window. Sheep scatter to make way to these strangers in this landscape. Bee hives are neatly laid out under the trees. The remains of a car sits alongside a ramshackle hut with irregular corrugated metal sheets making up its structure.
Eventually the track zig-zags down to the road to Lardos. Access to St Georges Chapel can be found here which is worth taking to view the frescos and intricate murals that adorn its interior.
Just peruse the photos below to whet ones appetite to take this short walk.
Update
As of 2023 a fence has been erected across the track on the northern part of the walk. This is just beyond the farm buildings. This is only tied up with rope and a chain. It is uncertain what the fence is intended for as there is no blockage further around to indicate that this is to keep animals in/out of a certain area. The alternative is to use the shorter route indicated by the blue line on the map image below.
Such blocking up of tracks and paths are typical on Rhodes where there is no legal public right of way. Landowners can simply add an obstruction without recourse. In some cases such obstructions are only there to keep wild animals out of a certain area and access can be gained simply by untying the rope that connects the fence to a post, retying this after going through. In this specific case a chain has also been used to retain the fence to the connecting post making it difficult to pass by the obstruction.
Summary of Document Changes
Last Updated: 2023-10-19
Images
(2023-09-21) It has been reported that the top loop of the walk is now blocked off by a fence, presumably this is where the small farm buildings are located - see the location with this reference http://www.nearby.org.uk/coord.cgi?p=36.08789292956708%2C+28.0275665186021
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