by Armed with gloves and pruners, my friend and I are near Pythara waterfall via Chora – the capital of the Greek island of Andros – and we cut back thorny and overhanging vegetation. We help the local volunteer association Andros Routes, which has restored a network of old mules, from the coast to the interior and its low mountains. The tracks are part of a new hiking vacation that enables us to explore the pretty island on foot – and also return something.
The eight -day trip with Ramble Worldwide leads you from the southeast to northwest, from Ormos Korthiou to Gavrio via Chora on the east coast, with accommodation in flat hotels and the baggage transfer between you. Only daily routes are proposed: guests can choose complete trekking days or simple round walks, adapt the vacation to the energy level and use buses or taxis to skip sections if desired. On the way you can help maintain the paths (SECATESSURE and gloves are delivered to your hotel).
Andros Routes began in 2010 under the Aegis of Sustainable Tourism Expert Olga Karayannis, who returned to the island after life in Athens to preserve the local heritage, culture and nature. So far, 100 miles (160 km) hiking trails have been restored and divided into numbered sections – with the plans to extend them to 150 miles – and each part has its own “angel”, which checks the route and joins when a problem is reported.
While we slowly descend from Pythara to the glittering Mediterranean in Chora, cats switch off our way or look up while we stop to cut spiky bushes back, to absorb garbage, move stones or check the condition of the signpost. Lizards darts and butterflies kiss our bare legs as we pass houses in which courgets and tomatoes sprout in a wild abundance. We stop for wild jasmine, mint of different types, rosemary, oregano and lavender, and go to carpets of figs who fell from the trees.
We are deep in lavish vegetation, go through shaded valleys and walk past old, ruined chapels in which goats are now looking for protection
On the way to the sea we pass cacti and olive groves and make caves in cliffs, where locals once hid from Turkish invaders and in which monks also searched for a refuge. We discover shaded pools in which, according to Folklore Feen, feen live and go next to chapels and ruined water mills. We end our walk with swimming in the cool green sea on the beach of Gialia, just outside of chora, and then drink fresh juice from the watermelon garden of the Votsalo Beach Bar.
In order to get more insight into the Andros Routes project, guests can have a trip with a municipal maintenance walk (every second weekend in spring, autumn and winter and on the organization news site). We meet two of the “angels”, forty -four Valentini and Vicky, who join us for part of the Walk and tell stories about Andros and vegetation and why the routes are so important for them and this island. Most of the “angels” are women who are suitable on this island who are known for their culture of strong women who kept the fort while the men were at sea.
The islanders love these paths, tell us the oldest parts, of which the parts of 1200 pay off, and you can already see how the program helps to revive the island if you are once sufficient by your shipbuilding industry. Ultimately, Olga’s vision is one of the “chain of sustainability”, in which the visitors support locals by eating in their houses and staying in restored old stone houses. This will give the test bunkhouse for eight options, the Hikers Lodge “Konaki” in the village of Katakalerei near Apikia. It also helps to extend the tourist season, with more people coming to the more pleasant hiking temperatures in March – May and September – November.
An interactive card was created with which hikers can visit small producers and craftsmen on the island
In the evening my friend and I walk the section of the way from Mesaria to menite after old irrigation channels that bring water out of the mountains. Andros Routes works with the cultural association in the village of menite and we appear at an impending workshop for children in the community center. Andros was known for silk production because of his mulberry trees, and the leader of the cultural association (and Route Angel) Despina is one of those who try to keep tradition alive.
Olga is also one of the founders of the Andros Research Center, which has created an interactive card, on which hikers can visit small producers and craftsmen on the island, with bookable visits to cheese manufacturers, jam manufacturers and beekeepers (and others) to see their work in action and take care of goodies. Or you can only see them at work while strolling. We stop how a local beekeeper takes care of his beehives.
Related: Our epic family adventures hikes through Greece’s vikos gorge
The walks vary throughout the days: On some days we roam all day, on others we take abbreviations by bus or taxi and only take a few hours, whereby we pay more attention to the things that have to be maintained and help with our Secateurs where we can. In some places we are deep in the manner of lush vegetation that the volunteers are busy and passing through shaded valleys and walking past old, ruined chapels in which goats are now looking for protection. Other areas are rocky and drier, and plenty of sun protection is a must.
One of our favorite days is spent in exploring in the interior of the villages in the villages of Remata and Katakilos, including many steep, challenging but rewarding steps. The section is in the last part of this route between the resort of Batsi and the ferry port of Gavrio, the flat, with heartbreaking coastal views in the ferry. We take a photo of a sign that begins to collapse but was not noticed because it is in a very distant place to return to Andros routes so that it can be repaired.
When we reach our last hotel, the charmingly reserved Irene studios, on the beach of San Pedro outside of Gavrio, we hang up our hiking boots and decide to cool on that day instead of going for a walk. There we swim with uninhabited islands as a dreamy backdrop in the Aegean and relax in spacious beach bars, the Greek salads, paellas, sangrias and the like the perfect antidote against wandering-loyal limbs.
The trip was provided by Ramble Worldwide, the Eight night Go to Andros vacation costs from £ 729pp B&BIncluding transfers, ferry from Rafina to Andros, luggage transfers, maps and route descriptions as well as 24-hour telephone aid. Departures between May and October 2025
