Santorini Trail 10 - Finikia - Kolumbos

This route starts at the chapel of Profitis Ilias, outside Oia with a view over the Caldera and moves towards the opposite coast of the island, to the east, to the beach of Kolumbos. As the hiker enters the narrow streets of Foiniki, they will have to follow a route with a general direction to the north initially, and then to the east without any kind of marking. The marking is absent throughout the route. After crossing the settlement, hikers will find themselves walking on grassy dirt roads that will give beautiful pictures in the spring with the flowers that decorate them. The grassy dirt roads give way to cobblestones that move over beautiful vineyards on a route of ever-decreasing passability. As the chapels of Kyra Panagia and Agioi Konstantinos kai Eleni are passed by, the route enters its worst part in terms of passability, as the vegetation reaches up to 1 meter or more and in places tall thorn bushes block access. This is a section that is impossible to walk, which can however be cleared or temporarily replaced by nearby dirt or asphalt roads. The route, however, is of great interest. The end of these rural passages leaves the hiker on the NW coastline of the island, walking on black sand and black-brown pebbles by the sea. This image accompanies the hiker for the last kilometer or so of the route, until they reach the imposing cliffs of Columbus where the route ends, at the closest possible point to the underwater volcano of the same name. A few meters earlier a secondary track gives access to the nearby asphalt road through a passable, pleasant path.