Chania Trails - APO 02 - Walk in History

There’s a walking trail near the verdant village of Stylos that starts right at the spring of the White Mountains’ (Lefka Ori) crystal waters and constitutes a path into the past.

The first stretch goes uphill, in the footsteps of the Minoans. The remnants of the Minoan settlement below Samonas may be hard to discern today, but a short detour will take you to a 3,000-year-old olive tree that was very likely cultivated by the residents of that ancient town.

Continuing along the path through the rural landscape of Apokoronas’ alpine villages, the Byzantine Church of Saint Nicholas at Kyriakosellia springs from the dense vegetation, surprising with its remote location and its remarkably good condition for an 11th-century edifice. This same scene, untouched by modern civilization, met the pilgrims of bygone centuries.

Continuing up the mountainside along a path that defies the sheer rockface, the trail comes to the Fortress of Kyriakosellia, another Byzantine edifice. Despite the natural fortifications provided by the cliffs surrounding it, the fortress was reinforced with sturdy walls that still stand there today. The panoramic view of the White Mountains’ tips and the Apokoronas valley will amply reward you for your efforts to reach this summit.

The trail then leads gently downhill back to Stylos, crossing olive groves and Apokoronas’ authentic agricultural landscape.