Walking in Greece: helping to restore the ancient trails of Andros island

The Guardian

23-04-2025

Armed with gloves and pruners, my friend and I are near Pythara waterfall above Chora – the capital of the Greek island of Andros – and we are cutting back thorny and overhanging vegetation. We're helping out the local volunteer association, Andros Routes, which has been restoring a network of ancient mule tracks, from the coast to the interior and its low mountains. The tracks form part of a new walking holiday that allows us to explore the pretty island on foot – and give something back, too.
The eight-day trip with Ramble Worldwide takes you from the south-east to the north-west, from Ormos Korthiou to Gavrio, via Chora on the east coast, with accommodation in low-key hotels and luggage transfer between them. Daily routes are only suggested: guests can choose full-on trekking days or easy circular walks, customising the holiday to suit energy levels and using buses or taxis to skip sections if desired. Along the way you can choose to help with the maintenance of the paths (secateurs and gloves are delivered to your hotel).
Andros Routes started life in 2010 under the aegis of the sustainable tourism expert Olga Karayiannis, who returned to the island, after living in Athens, on a mission to conserve local heritage, cultural and natural. So far, 100 miles (160km) of trails have been restored and broken into numbered sections – with plans to extend them to 150 miles – and each part has its own 'angel' who checks up on the route and steps in when a problem is reported.
As we descend slowly from Pythara towards the glittering Mediterranean at Chora, cats amble across our path or look on as we stop to cut back spiky bushes, pick up rubbish, move stones or check on the state of signposts. Lizards dart and butterflies kiss our bare legs as we sidle past houses where courgettes and tomatoes sprout in wild abundance. We stop to sniff wild jasmine, mints of different kinds, rosemary, oregano and lavender, and walk on carpets of figs that have tumbled from the trees.
We pass cacti and olive groves on our way down to the sea and make out caves in cliffs where locals once hid from Turkish invaders, and where monks have also sought sanctuary. We discover shaded pools where, according to folklore, fairies reside, and walk alongside chapels and ruined watermills. We end our walk with a swim in the cool green sea at Gialia beach, just outside Chora, and then sip fresh juice from the Votsalo beach bar's watermelon garden.
To get more of an insight into the Andros Routes project, guests can time a trip to coincide with a communal maintenance walk (held every second weekend in spring, autumn and winter, and flagged up on the organisation's news page). We meet two of the 'angels', fortysomethings Valentini and Vicky, who join us for part of the walk and share stories about Andros and vegetation, and why the routes are so important, to them and this island. Most of the 'angels' are women, appropriate on this island known for its culture of strong women who held the fort while the men were at sea.
Islanders love these pathways, they tell us, the oldest parts of which date back to 1200, and they can already see how the scheme is helping to reinvigorate the island, once rich through its shipbuilding industry. Olga's vision is ultimately one of a 'chain of sustainability' where visitors support locals by eating in their homes and staying in restored old stone houses. This will add options to the trial bunkhouse for eight, Hikers Lodge 'Konaki' in Katakalei village, near Apikia. It's also helping to extend the tourist season, with more people coming in March–May and September–November for the more pleasant walking temperatures.
In the evening, my friend and I stroll the section of the path from Mesaria to Menites, following ancient irrigation channels that bring water down from the mountains. In the village of Menites, Andros Routes works with the cultural association and we happen upon a children's looming workshop in the community centre; Andros used to be known for silk production because of its mulberry trees, and cultural association leader (and Route Angel) Despina is among those trying to keep the tradition alive.
Olga is also one of the founders of the Andros Research Center, which has created an interactive map to help walkers visit small-scale producers and artisans on the island, with bookable visits to cheese-makers, jam-makers and beekeepers (and others) to see their work in action and stock up on goodies. Or you may just see them at work as you amble along. We stop to watch a local beekeeper tending to his hives.
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As days pass, the walks vary: some days we ramble all day, on others we take shortcuts by bus or taxi and do just a couple of hours, paying more attention to the things that need maintaining, and helping out with our secateurs where we can. In some places we are deep in the kind of lush vegetation that keeps the volunteers busy, passing through shaded valleys, walking past old ruined chapels where goats now take shelter. Other areas are more rocky and arid, and copious sunscreen is a must.
One of our favourite days is spent exploring inland around the villages of Remata and Katakilos, which includes lots of steep, challenging-but-rewarding uphills. The section contrasts sharply with the final part of that route between the resort of Batsi and the ferry port of Gavrio, which is flatter, with heart-stirring coastal views. We take a photo of a sign that's starting to collapse but hasn't been noticed because it's in quite a remote spot, to send back to Andros Routes so it can be fixed.
When we reach our final hotel, the charmingly low-key Irene Studios, on San Pedro beach just outside Gavrio, we hang up our walking boots and decide to chill instead of walk that day. There, with uninhabited islands as a dreamy backdrop, we swim in the Aegean and relax at great-value beach bars serving Greek salads, paellas, sangrias and the like – the perfect antidote to hike-weary limbs.
The trip was provided by Ramble Worldwide, its eight-night Walking on Andros holiday costs from £729pp B&B, including transfers, ferry from Rafina to Andros, luggage transfers, maps and route descriptions, and 24-hour telephone assistance. Departures between May and October 2025