A tangle of trails winds among terraced fields of inexperienced and wild olive trees on the Greek island of Sifnos, weaving into the bygone era. Some of these 19 routes, which are now commonly referred to as the Sifnos Trails, date back to 3000 B.C. Before a community-led project with the trail-building organization Paths of Greece began rebuilding them in 2015, they had been abandoned for years. Travelers may now trace the footsteps of the farmers, miners, and soldiers who built one of the oldest trail networks in history.
Discover historic silver mines, picturesque fishing towns, and fields full of wildflowers, all only a short distance from the summertime throng on Mykonos and Santorini, thanks to newly installed signposts and way markings. Learn how to explore this less-visited corner of the Mediterranean right now.
Strolling through the past.
Sifnos is an island located south of the Greek mainland, one of the over 200 islands that make up the Cyclades archipelago. Sifnos was the epicenter of Cycladic culture in antiquity, and its wealth was derived from ceramics, silver, and gold mining.
Undoubtedly, the Sifnos Trails provide access to this legendary history, with archeological sites dotted throughout a range of paths that range from easy walks through wooded hillsides to challenging climbs that offer breathtaking views of the coast. One of the most challenging and far-off routes is the Sifnos Insiders trek. It starts with a steep ascent from the port city of Kamares and ends at the city of Apollonia. The hamlet, appropriately named after the sun deity worshipped in antiquity, has served as Sifnos’ capital since 1836.
(That’s where you will find Aphrodite in Cyprus.)
Following the shore, the trail meanders past pine and juniper trees, across fields dotted with white flowers, and is accompanied by the gentle bleating of goats and the tinkling of their bells. The crumbling stone ruins of rural life may be seen on the slopes. These include some of the island’s about 70 towers as well as the monks, which are little farm structures.
Please respect intellectual property. Illegal usage is not permitted.
Tulsi Parikh, an archaeologist on the British Faculty at Athens, argues that it’s difficult to determine how old these routes are unless you focus on the sorts of things that have been found next to them. Because of its great richness, Sifnos needed a community of watchtowers to protect its precious sources, which have been mined. For example, to warn people of incoming ships, torches have been lit atop the towers.
Aegean churning bordered by narrow alleyways loaded with Roman sarcophagi and Archaic masonry, the Venetian castle of Kastro, and the Mycenaean acropolis of Agios Andreas are examples of abandoned villages reached via several pathways. A rocky route, surrounded by low-lying plants, drops from a degree known as Kabanario all the way down to Cheronissos on the island’s far northern point. The daily catch is served fried and drenched in lemon juice to visitors who have lived and worked in the little port of Sifnos for generations.
The walkways themselves are an important item as well, but the historic webpages next to them are the main attraction. For example, the four-mile, out-and-back Route of the Mines starts at Artemonas and finishes at Agios Sostis along a cliffside route bounded by a drystone wall. Here, the stark white cathedral dominates one of the oldest active gold and silver mines in the world, dating back to the Bronze Age and continuing into the twentieth century. According to Parikh, “we all know that people have been walking down there for millennia because the only way to get there was on foot, so you’re strolling a route much like what miners would have walked.” (Today, travelers are drawn to Greece by the river that leads to the “underworld.”) Please respect intellectual property. Illegal usage is not permitted.
A future of sustainable tourism
The pathways go beyond just having fun. The former history of Sifnos. A section of the west coast was included in the European Federation’s Natura 2000 community in 1997, safeguarding Europe’s most valuable and endangered species and their environments. According to Parikh, “it’s one of the best ways for people to learn about the island and then become fascinated with conserving it.”
This reserve, which safeguards eleven vulnerable habitats together with juniper forest and river ecosystems, is curved by the recently established Botanical Path. The delicate, unique plants and blooms that flank the route—such as the pink catchfly and white morning glory—are made evident by indicators. Keep an eye out for Milos vipers, one of the two endangered snake species in the area.
(Can tourists be seduced by hidden riches on this abandoned Greek island?)
The goal is to promote year-round travel outside of the popular summer months. “The routes instruct people about the past,” explains Fivos Tsaravopoulos, the organization’s founder. But they also provide us with a better future by making us more aware of the environment. A tangle of trails winds among terraced fields of inexperienced and wild olive trees on the Greek island of Sifnos, weaving into the bygone era.
Some of these 19 routes, which are now commonly referred to as the Sifnos Trails, date back to 3000 B.C. Before a community-led project with the trail-building organization Paths of Greece began rebuilding them in 2015, they had been abandoned for years. Travelers may now trace the footsteps of the farmers, miners, and soldiers who built one of the oldest trail networks in history.
Discover historic silver mines, picturesque fishing towns, and fields full of wildflowers, all only a short distance from the summertime throng on Mykonos and Santorini, thanks to newly installed signposts and way markings. Learn how to explore this less-visited corner of the Mediterranean right now.
Strolling through the past.
Sifnos is an island located south of the Greek mainland, one of the over 200 islands that make up the Cyclades archipelago. Sifnos was the epicenter of Cycladic culture in antiquity, and its wealth was derived from ceramics, silver, and gold mining.
Undoubtedly, the Sifnos Trails provide access to this legendary history, with archeological sites dotted throughout a range of paths that range from easy walks through wooded hillsides to challenging climbs that offer breathtaking views of the coast. One of the most challenging and far-off routes is the Sifnos Insiders trek. It starts with a steep ascent from the port city of Kamares and ends at the city of Apollonia. The hamlet, appropriately named after the sun deity worshipped in antiquity, has served as Sifnos’ capital since 1836.
(That’s where you will find Aphrodite in Cyprus.)
Following the shore, the trail meanders past pine and juniper trees, across fields dotted with white flowers, and is accompanied by the gentle bleating of goats and the tinkling of their bells. The crumbling stone ruins of rural life may be seen on the slopes. These include some of the island’s about 70 towers as well as the monks, which are little farm structures.
Please respect intellectual property. Illegal usage is not permitted.
Tulsi Parikh, an archaeologist on the British Faculty at Athens, argues that it’s difficult to determine how old these routes are unless you focus on the sorts of things that have been found next to them. Because of its great richness, Sifnos needed a community of watchtowers to protect its precious sources, which have been mined. For example, to warn people of incoming ships, torches have been lit atop the towers.
Aegean churning bordered by narrow alleyways loaded with Roman sarcophagi and Archaic masonry, the Venetian castle of Kastro, and the Mycenaean acropolis of Agios Andreas are examples of abandoned villages reached via several pathways. A rocky route, surrounded by low-lying plants, drops from a degree known as Kabanario all the way down to Cheronissos on the island’s far northern point. The daily catch is served fried and drenched in lemon juice to visitors who have lived and worked in the little port of Sifnos for generations.
The walkways themselves are an important item as well, but the historic webpages next to them are the main attraction. For example, the four-mile, out-and-back Route of the Mines starts at Artemonas and finishes at Agios Sostis along a cliffside route bounded by a drystone wall. Here, the stark white cathedral dominates one of the oldest active gold and silver mines in the world, dating back to the Bronze Age and continuing into the twentieth century.
According to Parikh, “we all know that people have been walking down there for millennia because the only way to get there was on foot, so you’re strolling a route much like what miners would have walked.” (Today, travelers are drawn to Greece by the river that leads to the “underworld.”) Please respect intellectual property. Illegal usage is not permitted.
A future of sustainable tourism
The pathways go beyond just having fun. The former history of Sifnos. A section of the west coast was included in the European Federation’s Natura 2000 community in 1997, safeguarding Europe’s most valuable and endangered species and their environments. According to Parikh, “it’s one of the best ways for people to learn about the island and then become fascinated with conserving it.”
This reserve, which safeguards eleven vulnerable habitats together with juniper forest and river ecosystems, is curved by the recently established Botanical Path. The delicate, unique plants and blooms that flank the route—such as the pink catchfly and white morning glory—are made evident by indicators. Keep an eye out for Milos vipers, one of the two endangered snake species in the area.
(Can tourists be seduced by hidden riches on this abandoned Greek island?)
The goal is to promote year-round travel outside of the popular summer months. “The routes instruct people about the past,” explains Fivos Tsaravopoulos, the organization’s founder. But they also provide us with a better future by making us more aware of the environment.