Home | Travel | Air Travel

Corfu - A Walkers Delight

By: Mark Bartley

Read More About Air Travel

Just like Malta, Corfu has parts that have a distinctly British feel, with English restaurants, cricket clubs and a music event calendar that caters for our unique taste. There are also roads in the capital of Corfu Town that resemble areas that could easily be mistaken for traditional areas of various UK towns.

As well as cricket, the hobby of trail walking is a perfect leisure pursuit for Corfu, because the island is home to the famous Corfu Trail, a route of footpaths that reach along the length of the island for over 130 miles.

Such is the popularity of trail walking on Corfu, that several guides have been published on the subject and companies now specialise in guiding walks in the various regions of the island. The fact that this Corfu Trail exists, does not mean that hikers need to tackle the entire length, in fact only a small percentage do. What the Trail does provide however is a way of linking walks between different parts of the island, so visitors can combine a mix of routes even choosing to complete a circular path over a few days, returning to their original start point.

The top part of the island is an obvious target for many first time walkers on Corfu, because the landscape is full of variety and walkers have quick and convenient routes to the top of Mount Pantokrator. The village of Nissaki makes a good place to set off from as the peak of Pantokrator lies just 2 miles to the north west of the village centre. But don't assume this is short half hour stroll which will see you back in the town square in time for a hearty lunch because there is the small issue of almost 2700 feet of climbing to worry about first. That altitude is not far off most of the main paths that take walkers up Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales, so an adventure up Mount Pantokrator needs a little preparation. The normal route is a fairly well surfaced combination of paths and gravel tracks and takes around 8 hour to complete out and back. The peak is the highest point of Corfu and provides some spectacular views of the whole island and Corfu Town almost 1000m below. You can take a break here and rest up in the cafe although the tall metal telecomms mast does spoil the feel of what should be an impressive peak.

Another interesting single day walk in Corfu is on the north coast of the island and follows a path across the island of Nissos. Nissos is a small area of Corfu, joined to the mainland by two small bridges, but from its peak you can enjoy wonderful views back towards Acharavi and across to Albania. Walking across this peaceful island and back across another bridge at the other side brings you out on the nice beach at Agios Spyridon, a perfect place for a family day digging in sand and watching the sunset from the friendly taverna. The energetic can hire a boat for messing about on the waters, while walkers generally sit under a sun shade, with a cool drink enjoying the views across the water to Albania.

Another nice walk in northern Corfu takes people to the abandoned Old Perithia, a deserted village that was once the location of the large houses of the island's wealthy landowners in the Byzantine era. The route is not an easy one, with part of it using an old mule track, some of which is cobbled, but there are some special views to be had down into the gorge of the Parigori river and beyond. Although the area was abandoned by its rich residents long ago, there are plenty of outlets to provide much needed refreshment on hot days.

As well as the 220km Corfu Trail itself there are other, shorter marked trails that bring the delights of inland Corfu to those prepared to venture out and about. These include the Kassiopi Trail that follows a route used by many of the island's past rulers as part of their defences against invaders. It provides some great views of the seas to the north of the island and so made a perfect place from which to base lookouts. The harbour at the town of Kassiopi is also a pleasant spot to have lunch and watch the world go by.

This review has touched only very briefly on the walking options on Corfu, with many other routes and tracks stretching down into the southern parts of the island. For keen walkers there are plenty of interesting options to fill two or even three week breaks on Corfu.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Many regions of Corfu are liked by walkers. For travellers flights to Corfu are available for reasonable cost during the summer months.

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Air Travel Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Travel | Air Travel
Sign Up for a free account.
Our other websites
All about SEO
Beauty Tips Forum
Submit Articles
Member Login
Link Us
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Sitemap
New Stuff
About Us
Developer
Good shopping portal
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

counter easy hit

Powered by Article Dashboard