Walking Routes
The beautiful cantons of the villages, but also the central roads of the island, due to the limited traffic of vehicles, are an ideal choice for those who want to walk in nature accompanied by the sound of the sea and the song of cicadas.
The distances in Meganisi are short and walking on the island will give you the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the landscape, but also to get in touch with the permanent residents of the island, who will welcome you with a smile.
A hat, sunscreen and of course a bottle of water are the necessary equipment for any walking excursion. The ideal times for your walking excursions in Meganisi are early in the morning when the temperature is not high and the traffic is minimal.
Indicatively, some of the routes that you can do while walking in Meganisi are the ones that follow, while this list will constantly be enriched.
Vathi – Katomeri – Vathi
Circular route with starting point Vatheos port and destination Katomeri, through the paved road. The uphill call of this first part of the route, do not scare you, as the elevation is very gently increasing. After arriving in Katomeri, you can rest for a while in one of the village cafes and then head to the church of the Holy Apostles. From there you will take the downhill road to Vathi and thus return to the point from where you started.
Total length: 2.9 km
The route is circular, so you can start with a starting point other than the one suggested here.
Katomeri – Limonari Beach – Katomeri
From Katomeri walking down a downhill road, within 20 minutes you will be at one of the most beautiful beaches of the island, Limonari. There, in addition to swimming in the wonderful waters, you can enjoy your coffee as there is a restaurant on site. The return takes a bit of effort due to the uphill, but since the route is very short, it won’t be too difficult!
Total length: 3 km
The route is circular, so you can start with a starting point other than the one suggested here.
Katomeri – Fanari Beach – Katomeri
Starting from the church of the Holy Apostles in Katomeri, start walking towards the port of Atherinos where, in addition to sailboats, you will also see the local fishing boats lazily rocking in the sun. If you haven’t already stocked up on water, you can do so from here as there are food outlets on site. Until Atherinos, the route has a downhill call, so no effort is required. Continuing towards Fanari beach, you will have the sea on your left, while in the smaller bays you will come across there will probably be sailboats moored and their passengers enjoying the sea and the sun. In a few minutes you will see in front of you the busiest beach of Meganisi. At the point there are two restaurants that also offer sunbeds. Enjoy your swim in the clear blue waters and hydrate yourself by drinking something cool in one of the two shops.
If you want you can walk to the lighthouse on the edge of the cape (from which the beach got its name) or go up the road directly above the beach to take a dip in the small beach of “Korakofilia”.
The way back to Atherinos is without much altitude difference, so you won’t get tired getting there. From Atherinos to Katomeri the road is uphill for about 300m (we choose the shortest route and not the road we passed before).
Total length: 5.6 km
The route is circular, so you can start with a starting point other than the one suggested here.
Spartochori – Katomeri – Vathy – Spilia – Spartochori
This is the longest route that passes through the settlements of Meganisi. Starting from the “balcony” of Spartochori and after enjoying the unique view from there, we will pass through the narrow alleys of the village exchanging greetings with the hospitable residents. The first stop will be Katomeri, so we head towards the road that connects the two villages and move to the edge of the road with more attention this time, as this particular road is the widest and the drivers move at a faster speed. The distance we have to cross to Katomeri is 3.5 km so it will take us about 40 minutes to get there.
After resting in one of the village shops and stocking up on water, we will take the road to Vathi. The route there is downhill and most of the road has a pavement, so our movement is done in absolute safety. The distance from Katomeri to Vathi is about 1.2 km, so we will be there in 10-15 minutes.
We cross the settlement of Vatheos with the largest port of the island, the many shops but also the unique marina of Meganisi and after passing the church of Agios Vissarionos, the patron saint of the island, we head towards the port of Spilia, with the sea on the right us and a view towards the mountains of Lefkada and Etoloakarnania. The distance we will need to travel to the Caves is about 5km, so we will need to walk for about 1 hour, so make sure you have as much water with you as you may need.
At the fork below Spartochori, if we turn right we will reach Spilia port, while if we choose the left course, we will start the climb towards Spartochori. Going up towards Spartochori, at the first left turn, we will meet the path with steps that connects the port with the village. From there, we can visit the famous Cyclops Cave!
Continuing the uphill road for about 600 meters, we will reach the point where we started, the “balcony” of Spartochori. Here is also the bust of the port guard Marinos Zampatis from Meganisi, who died heroically fighting on April 27, 1997 at the age of 25 during an operation in pursuit of Albanian drug dealers.
Total length: 10.5 km.
The route is circular, so you can start from a village and not the Spartochori suggested here.
Spartochori – St. Ioannis – Stravounami Beach – Spartochori
Starting from Spartochori and after stocking up on water, putting on our hat and sunscreen, we will start in the direction of the Holy Church of Agios Ioannis. The route is downhill and so we will easily cover the 3km to get there. While we are walking, we will have the opportunity to see on both sides of the road, the famous “lithies”, the stone terraces that were made by the people of Meganisi to hold the soil in their fields where they cultivated their olives. It is also possible to meet goats as we walk, as despite the touristic development of the island, there are still quite a few breeders in Meganisi.
It is also possible to meet goats as we walk, as despite the touristic development of the island, there are still quite a few breeders Arriving in Agios Ioannis which you can read more about here, if we want we can take a quick dip on the beach that is right there in front or we continue by turning right on the coastal road, having the sea on our left.i in Meganisi. In about 200 meters, we will find the only restaurant in the area where we can drink a coffee overlooking the mountain of Poros of Lefkada.
Continuing in the same direction at a distance of 1.2 km, we will reach Stravounami or Ammoglossa beach, which many of the island’s visitors choose to swim every day. Directly opposite you will see the uninhabited islet of Thilia. The beach is organized and the canteen there also offers sunbeds in front of the sea. Here it is worth taking a dip to cool off and to recover your strength for the last part of the route.
With the sea on our right, we head northeast towards the small Koutalades beach which is about one kilometer away and is located below the road. From here the route starts to go uphill for about 2km. At the end of the climb, however, we will have reached Spartochori again, where we started, and thus we will be able to rest and enjoy local flavors in one of the village’s shops!
Total length: 7.7 km.
The route is circular, so you can start with a starting point other than the one suggested here.