Hidden trails known only to the Kalymnian hunters and shepherds
The island of Kalymnos has many paths. Some are well-trodden, typically Greek, ancient ways to churches and mountain tops. Some are stone-paved kalderimi. Some are tiny, almost hidden trails known only to the Kalymnian hunters and shepherds by the scratches of goats’ hooves. Goats have been all over the island since the ancient times, as we read in historic books they were so strong and overpopulated, that they could stay immune from the wolves!
Visitors to Kalymnos are slowly getting to know these paths on the mountains and along the cliffed coastlines. Some of the paths are quite easy and suitable for virtually all walkers, such as the route above Kantouni bay to visit the beautifully positioned church of Saint Photis, or the paved, ancient Roman style trail, known nowadays as The Italian path, which unfolds over and connects the lower hills between the Vathy valley and Pothia. More adventurous walkers will enjoy the steeper walk to the highest point of the island, Prophitis Ilias, at 676 meters above sea level. Other walks on the island will take you to remote chapels and monasteries, Byzantine castles and even older archeological sites, giant caves and collapsed domes, mountain ridges and hidden beaches.
On all of these walks you will enjoy an exceptional landscape where rugged limestone mountains rise abruptly and dramatically in close proximity to a deeply indented Aegean island coastline. Perhaps of all the nearby islands, here, this contrast is at its most pronounced. Whilst other nearby islands may have prettier, gentler scenery, very few can match the immense contrast between the strong lines and harsh grandeur of the Kalymnian escarpments and the verdant patches of olive, myrtle and citrus groves clinging to the lower slopes.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, a new breed of visitor started arriving to Kalymnos, rock climbers, who announced to everyone that a climbing Mecca exists. The many steep tufa-covered caves and limestone cliffs of the island, offer a savage landscape that has rapidly led to the island becoming one of the world’s leading destinations for the sport climber. Sure enough these enthusiasts for the outdoors have also started to spend their “rest days” exploring the mountains and the hidden, secret, almost inaccessible, bays of the island.
Read more from the official page of Kalymnos municipality.
Our experienced local hiking guide, has joined together paths and landscapes, history with culture & religion, trails that no one could have imagined to encounter on this tiny piece of land.
The Kalymnos Experience offers you the chance to discover your own, according to the time of the year you are visiting. Each season, leads to another experience, a unique touch with nature. It is the time of the bee-harvest when wild thyme is sprouting, the time of the figs found all around the island, the time of the goat breeding, cheese & wine making, the time when everything gets green and old water paths become alive, the time when some shade is invaluable… Botanical walks are also very popular and surprisingly interesting!
We have set a combination of easy to moderate and quite demanding trails, divided in half and full day excursions, combined with stops, photography safari of flora and fauna and swimming in remote beaches.
Guide ⦿ Government taxes, local taxes 24%
❭ Let us know your preference on trail difficulty (easy – moderate – demanding) and theme.
❭ Also available, cruise & hike to other islands, possibility of overnight stay. Ask for details.