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Deserted Village Near Fiscardo
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An
interesting walk that begins from Fiscardo and takes you
back in time. This walk can be combined to make a longer
hike to Dafnoudi beach or used as a shortcut to the
village of Antipata, now with three restaurants so you
can most certainly find refreshment and a good excuse to
stop along the way!
Duration: Around an hour depending upon how long you
spend exploring the village. |
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Start Point:
The Old Bakery in Fiscardo.
Walk up the alleyway and pass the bakery on your right,
it soon becomes a single lane footpath and ends in a few
steps up to the main road. Exactly opposite you, is the
track you should take. There may be a signpost to "Kastro
Club" - follow this! |
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The first
interesting place to stop is Queen Fiscardo's Throne.
This is about 100 meters up the track on your right hand
side, just beyond the parking for Kastro Club. There is
a very small stone lined path leading to the "throne". |
This is
possibly a natural formation but is more likely to have
been hewn from the solid rock in ancient times. Local
legend suggests that it was here that the Queen of
Fiscardo held court.
Continue up the track, which becomes quite rough and
resembles a dry riverbed. To your left and right you
will notice the remains of old terraces now long
overgrown and as you reach the brow of the hill, you
will notice fields to your left. |
| Beyond these
fields you may now be able to catch a glimpse of the
deserted village. Continue just a little further and the
track becomes a tarmac road. On your left, above the
road, is the church of Saint Spirithon. If you are
interested, there are some gravestones here, which date
back to the turn of the century. |
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| Continue up the
tarmac road a few yards and from here you will get a
good view of the village. To get to the village you need
to continue a little further. First you will pass a
stone house on your right, immediately followed by a
small bungalow on your left. About fifty metres past
this you will notice a newly widened footpath on your
left - this loops back and leads directly to your
destination, the old village of Psilithrias. |
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Here you can
admire the view of Ithaca and the sea below and ponder
on the past inhabitants of this once thriving village.
Although a couple of the houses have been renovated and
are used during the summer, the majority are not
habitable. Some of the houses must have been quite grand
in their time as there are remains of large gateposts
and majestic balconies. It is interesting to note that
this village cannot be seen from the sea. Villages on
Kefalonia were often built in similar locations. This
was in order not to be seen by pirates. Access was
entirely on foot and goods were transported by mule or
donkey. |
| Once you have
absorbed the atmosphere of the village you can either
re-trace your steps to Fiscardo or continue another ten
minutes up the track to the village of Antipata. With
it's typically Greek taverna, school building, church
and large village square,this is a relaxing place to
catch your breath and enjoy a cool drink or a snack
before making the return journey or continuing your
adventure. |
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