Corfu Trail Walking - North and South

Welcome to Greece! Your Greek walking adventure begins in the elegant island capital of Corfu Town. With its cobblestone streets, Venetian architecture, and pastel-hued buildings, the city is a sight to behold. If you arrive early, take the opportunity to explore the Old Quarter, located just above the old port. Here, you'll find two Venetian forts, Paleo Frourio and Neo Frourio, standing guard over the city. In the evening, join your tour leader for a welcome meeting and dinner. Overnight stay will be in a local hotel (or similar).

Today, we'll embark on a longer walk to Santa Barbara, crossing the southern part of the island to the east and heading back to the western coast. Our trail will lead us around a peaceful lake, through olive groves and fields to Lefkimmi, the second biggest town on the island. After exploring the town, we'll descend into the lush green valley of the Gardeno River. The final stretch of the walk rewards us with views of both the east and west coasts of Corfu. Our accommodation tonight is simple, located close to the beach where you can relax to the sounds of the tide lapping at the golden sands.

From Benitses, we'll take a bus back to Stavros, and our walk continues with a delightful footpath skirting the Agii Deka Mountain, before we make a very sharp ascent to the summit of Agii Deka, Corfu's second highest alone-standing peak. Here, an abandoned monastery in a walled garden makes an ideal rest stop. Our way continues down a cobbled mule path to Agii Deka village then along minor roads and tracks to Sinarades, where you might like to visit the Folk Museum and admire the quaint architecture. Then the Trail leads along undulating tracks with very fine views over the west coast and inland to Pelekas. From here, we take the bus back to our accommodation in Benitses.

Today is free for you to explore more at your own pace. Situated below the traditional village of Liapades and surrounded by green hillsides, Liapades Beach has a sand and shingle beach as well as a handful of cafes and restaurants. The beautiful beach of Rovinia is just a short walk away. You might also like to join an optional boat trip up the west coast of Corfu from Paleokastritsa to Ermones beach or wander around the famous Paleokastritsa Monastery, situated on a spectacular promontory.

First thing this morning, we'll negotiate a steep, fairly difficult ascent up to the old village of Lakones- with one of the best views in Europe. After close to a kilometre of unavoidable road, we'll head up on an old cobbled footpath towards the villages of Vistonas, Makrades and Krini. In the afternoon, we'll continue down one of Greece's most remarkable footpaths, The Donkey Path. This pathway zigzags down a wide track to the sweeping bay of Agios Georgios. Our accommodation tonight is in the pleasant beach resort of Agios Georgios with a long sandy beach and views of the green hills bordering the bay.

Today, we'll take a local bus back to the Corfu Trail. Starting our walk from Rekini, we'll take the unmade road to Valanio, a village deep in the middle of nowhere, from where tracks funnel us up a deep valley. We'll follow a cobbled path to enter Sokraki, where the village square with its happy atmosphere calls for a stop. Then we'll carry on to Spartillas, where a chartered bus is waiting to take us down to our accommodation at the picturesque coastal village of Kalami. Here, in the White House, Lawrence Durrell wrote Prospero's Cell. The little bay in Kalami is lined with white pebbles and has a panoramic backdrop of mountainous Albania.

Today the real mountain terrain beckons. We'll transfer by bus back to Spartillas to begin our walk, which starts immediately with a steep mountain footpath, climbing a gully to a fantastic viewpoint at Taxiarchis Chapel - a ruin with fresco-covered walls. We'll ascend further to cross the Karst Plateau, Corfu's wildest scenery, under the summit of Pantokrator. Then, we'll make our way to the very top and visit the monastery, with its views across to the mountains of Albania. Descending, we'll have fine views as well as some rough sections of terrain as we reach the deserted village of Palia Perithia where we'll stop at a taverna for a refresher. Eventually, we'll make the final stretch of the Corfu trail ending at the most northerly point of the island.

Today is free to rest your legs and relax in the local area. If you'd rather keep going, there's an optional walk - a 15.5 kilometre round trip from Kalami to Mengoulas or a 12 kilometre walk through the unspoiled Erimitis Peninsula to the lovely seaside village of Kassiopi.

We'll return to Corfu Town's old port by bus this morning. This afternoon, our tour leader will accompany us on a walking orientation tour of the main points of interest in the marvellous Venetian town centre. There might be time to take a bus to the postcard-perfect location of Kanoni to explore the archaeological sites and walk across the causeway to visit Vlacherna Church, too. Alternatively, you might like to visit the intriguing Mouse Island by boat departing from the peninsula's small jetty.