Walk to Tsaliana

14km, 250m ascent. All on good tracks, but possible problems with fences.

Tsaliana [Τσαλιανα] is on the road NNW from Paleochora to Voutas [Βουτάς]. The most pleasant way of reaching it is to walk out of Paleochora on the Koundoura [Κουνδουρά] road (following the shore, West of Paleochora).

Just beyond the major headland, take the first track leading inland (see Figure 1), shortly before the bridge (N35 14.263 E23 39.072).

Figure 1: The valley track in from the coast, seen from the higher track on which one returns from the coast.

After a few metres, the track goes through olive trees and passes a small chapel to the right (open). Follow the path up the valley, keeping mostly right of the stream bed beside an old irrigation channel, now superceded by black plastic pipes. Once or twice the path disappears into the stream bed, but keep following it until a large concrete ford crosses the stream (when I walked it, in early May, the water flowed over the ford before disappearing into the ground.) The track crossing the valley leads up to fields to the right (East). Take the left hand track that zig-zags up the Western valley side to a T junction. Left (S) is a short cut back to the coast (see later) however, you can also turn right (N) at a T junction to come soon to Agia Triada church, a partially paved road and the village of Tsaliana. Alternatively, from the ford, you can continue up the stream bed, (rougher, with no clear path) until a definite path rises up to the left through a steel mesh gate. This cobbled path rises steeply past some houses to come out just south of the Agia Triada church.

Figure 2: Agia Triada church and the track leading to it from the South (left) seen, looking West, from the Paleochora road across the valley

Continue north on this road to join the Voutas-Paleochora road at the bridge (N35 15.633 E23 39.838) where bullet-ridden road signs announce “Tsaliana”

One way back to the coast is via the road. Another rises (N35 15.460 E23 39.921) to the West of the paved road just mentioned, between the bridge and the first house. This track zig-zags steeply up to the West, sometimes paved in concrete, before reaching the top of the ridge (N35 15.469 E23 39.587). Here fences may bar your way. One track leads down to the West to a dead-end, instead follow another along the ridge south for a while and then contours right, before petering out. From here climb back up to the ridge, now up to your left (East). Follow goat trails South until you see a trail to the SW and drop off the SW side of the ridge to join it at a ramp. The North (right) option leads you [through goat fences] into the Pelekaniotikos river valley, past ruins and remains of an olive press. Instead take the Southern route that climbs slightly, well above the Pelekaniotikos. See Figure 4

Figure 4: Pelekaniotikos valley from the track South.

and then swings round the southern side of the ridge to join up with the other branch of the tee near Agia Triada. Before going this far though, a footpath joins from the south (N35 14.825 E23 39.221). Take this across a col, before climbing up to a hill, and rounding this to the East side. The clear (but rough) track then slants down towards the sea (whence Figure 1 was taken), and swings right to join a track at a hairpin. Follow the track down to a field, and follow the Eastern side of a fence beyond which there are plastic greenhouses growing tomatoes. At a gap in the fence a good trail leads down the hill to the coast road. It’s then a 4km road walk back to Paleochora.

Figure 5: Dragon Lily, flowering in April/May

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