Santorini Trail 04 - Panagia Episkopis - Pyrgos

This route starts next to the Byzantine church of Panagia Episkopis, which is a unique point of interest of this island, both for its architecture and history, as well as for the view and the shade that one can find there. The start of the route is on a concrete road, which climbs in a SW direction. A path ensues, climbing through a beautiful but abandoned agricultural landscape to approach the settlement of Pyrgos to the NW. The path moves uphill, unmarked, between old xerolithic terraces and abandoned buildings, to reach Agios Georgios "To Katefyo"  church at an altitude of about 400 meters. From this impressive church with its towering retaining walls that stand out in the landscape, the hiker spots and follows a clean cobblestone path that leads him to the rest of the route. After a passage over the quarry that operates currently on the mountainside, (the route climbs past this quarry for almost all of its former length) this route joins route 1 a little further from the settlement of Pyrgos, where the Church of Agioi Apostoloi is. From there and up to Pyrgos, the route continues into cobblestones first, then asphalt roads and finally cobblestones within the settlement. This route has some signposting, however outside the urban landscape, where the bigger part is, to follow the route onew needs to look for the continuation of the old path. Based on the quality of the trail followed, it appears that the most used part of it is the path that leads people from Pyrgos to the chapel of Agios Georgios. The route offers unobstructed views along its entire length.