The Municipality of Apokoronas is starting a new round of posts on the paths of Apokoronas.
As Haralambos Koukianakis, mayor of Apokoronas, announced, «three months after our notifications for the villages of Apokoronas ended and half a month since the presentation of our photo album “Apokoronas, a journey in nature and history” (only in Greek for now), a new round of notifications on paths of Apokoronas is about to begin. The rationale is that since we “got to know” a bit more about the villages and monuments of Apokoronas during the last 1,5 year (May 2020-July 2021), it’s about time we walk in and around them and get to know even better the natural beauties of Apokoronas!
The paths and routes that will be presented during the next few months were designed by Paths of Greece (Monopatia tis Elladas), adhering to a relevant decision taken in April 2018. The first proposal for the development of a Hiking Trails Network in Apokoronas was submitted in October of 2018 and was officially presented in Vrisses on April 6, 2019. The Municipality of Apokoronas and the Region of Crete approved the relevant study and the Municipality of Apokoronas signed a relevant contract with the contractor on June 22, 2021, with a total budget of 238,600 euros. Wanting to promote the significance of this project that will be delivered in the summer of 2022, we thought it would be appropriate to dedicate to it our next round of weekly notifications. The relevant texts will be prepared by the special advisor to the Mayor, George Limantzakis, based on the delivered material, making extended use of our photo archive.
The Hiking Trails Network of Apokoronas is expected to have multiple benefits for the province and its people. It consists of twelve routes with a total length of over 150 km and aims to make the natural beauties of Apokoronas more visible and accessible to locals and foreign visitors, offer a new sustainable product of alternative tourism and sensitize the local and international public on issues of environment protection, with respect to the needs of the local community, tradition and cultural heritage. Achieving these goals does not depend that much on marking and maintaining these trails, but on promoting and combining them in a way that meets the needs of the modern hiker. Our goal is not to design a route that connects points of interest, but to make the route an attraction in itself, offering the hiker a unique experience that will make him or her enjoy it and come again.
Please note that the construction of the trails is in progress and the paths presented will not be accessible and completely safe until the delivery of the project in the summer of 2022. Consequently, we do not encourage and do not recommend those interested to start walking the routes presented, but to get acquainted with them and include them in their summer plans!
See you in about two weeks, on Monday November 1, to “walk” together the first part of Route 1, “Between water and air”, which connects the fortress of Itzedin in Kalami with the ancient city of Aptera, through a beautiful route in the valley of Kiliaris».