Hiking around Sounio

Seriously, with zero intentions to look redundant the only reason the National Park of Sounio has showed up on my post so many times is because I just can't skip things I still discover while walking/riding around even after so many years of exploring it. Feel welcome to follow me as I unfold its (often historic) beauties one more time.

I've just parked my bike right in the heart of this pine forest:

Curious how the ride was up to here?

Nothing better than arriving at a place like this early morning in absolute silence and piece:

Some dirt routes like this fire road literally feel like taking you up to heaven:

I will leave this unpaved highway for another time cause and I walk towards this ruin which I haven't seen before even though I've passed it so many times in the past:

The reason is that now it's visible since the local authorities and the ministry of culture have cleaned up the area like never before.

This house has pine trees for residents at the moment:

Let's walk in:

Some bits of trash as usual...

What you see in the blurry background is the sea and the island of Makronissos:

Not a bad view at all eh?

Some dangerous spots are fenced. I say some cause "all" is mission impossible - there's countless of them due to the intense silver mining activity of the past. Like the following ones:

Spring is here!

I take a dirt road to visit an area that looked a bit promising from satellite images but in reality I didn't find any historic bits around:

Not that I complain though, the route was rather easy even for my street tires:

Plus I get as bonus this carpet of baby chamomile (those tiny white cuties):

I take another dirt road:

Which brings me to the following spot:

Here I am looking for what looked to me as an interesting rock formation that no one has anything to say about which puts a doubt on how interesting in real this might be.

In a search for a path that might lead there I dive into the dense forest:

This looks like a trail:

Which gets lost in the pine trees:

The latter still have drops of water on them from the humid night:

The trail opens up a bit later:

And splits in two:

I doubt it's gonna lead me to where I want it to so I walk back and try another way which brings me to what I was looking for much easier - and I am impressed instantly:

As you saw above this pine tree is growing over the edge of this chasm. Just like the rest around:

It might look like a trench to you but don't confuse it with the once you see from battle clips in Ukraine. This is twice as deep and wide:

It looks impressively straight to be natural but at the same time it doesn't make much sense to make a thing like that there in the middle of nowhere. I decide to go in and see what is what so I go down this steep slope:

Walking at its bottom I get the chance to picture the trees hanging over me which gives you an idea about it's depth:

I am more than happy to walk the whole thing but I realise that I kinda walk on quicksand:

You see this stuff could easily cover the opening of a mine shaft and in this case I'll be gone for good so better safe than sorry. I walk back up and try to picture it from the top:

Even this is not possible across it's whole length so I deviate trying to find view to it again later - meanwhile I capture Spring:

I follow this promising path:

And later I find myself walking over a wall:

This wall made of stones actually bridges and cuts the chasm:

This means that this thing must be natural. Quite straight and sharp for its length in this case.

I see more cavities around this spot:

Unfortunately I can't really access them so I try to capture as much as possible from a safe spot:

One more viewing angle of that trench:

Fancy some early Spring art? Be my guest:

The following dirt roads lead me to the next spot for some exploration around:

To be honest I can't wait for the electric future when I'll be enjoying my time riding in the heart of nature while still listening to birds singing without disturbing any living being.

I sneak into this dense spot to see if I can get a view to these cavities behind the trees:

I harvested less than I hoped for so I walk back through this jungle:

In fact I make my way out of the bottom of some sort of crater as you can see:

After a while walking in this very dense part of the forest I can see for the first time in the background behind those trees my next target:

It's a pair of small stone houses from the 19th century:

And that's the road that used to serve them, who knows when it was the last time it really did actually:

I say so cause as you will see at least the first one is not just abandoned but also roofless:

However, it must have been cleaned up recently as I can tell from the looks of its floor and walls:

A place like this in the heart of a forest like this would look way much worse with no roof, doors and windows.

Unsurprisingly, it seems that it used to have a fireplace though there's no chimney today, not even a roof actually:

Fancy some window view?

The other building is almost the same size but it must have been roofed lately with one of its rooms being privileged enough to have a locked door:

The other room is just open and bare:

I leave both of them behind and continue with the rest of my "to do" list. Once again, I meet fenced mine shafts:

This stone wall is around 150 years old:

Unfenced beauty is a clear winner:

Ladies and gentlemen, this is just a small bit of the unparalleled green beauty of Sounio:

On my way to my next "target" the following crater cuts my way:

I circumnavigate myself around it when later I meet one more open mine shaft:

The above is among the most dangerous ones as you only see it last second and trust me it's no fun falling in one of those.

As I make it to the top I am rewarded with this sweet overview:

I want to walk further West but the next craters and the vegetation plus the risk of more mine shafts put a lot of questions on my attempt:

That, plus the not so interesting (from far at least) ruins I see a few meters ahead make me decide a U turn and seek for more worth trying things.

After some walking in this very dense forest,

I am back on my bike only to leave it again a bit later:

Time to walk again on these dirt roads:

And soon the road becomes a single path:

I reach some leftovers from the silver mining activity that used to take place here and I stop for some pictures as the view is impossible to regret:

Have a look now how Spring colours the bare stones:

This next one is my favourite though:

I am on top of this pile of stones:

And I am more than happy to share this 360 view with you:

Nice? Undoubtedly, as long as you don't fall in one of the countless mine shafts around:

I take a more colourful way heading to my next destination:

I am indecisive about the focus so I'll put both images and you can stare at your favourite:

The point of interest I have discovered by looking at satellite images is on the other side of this little valley on the right:

That dark spot in this sea of pine trees:

As I manage to reach it which was a bit of a struggle in this dense vegetation I find out that it's probably dating back to the ancient years:

Unfortunately I can't really walk it thoroughly and even those images are taken while I am hanging over this edge:

I could call it a day after visiting all this stuff I already showed you in all 3 parts but I have one more spot on my list. Not sure I will manage to reach it from this side of the forest I decide to give it a try. It's that stone circular construction you see in the middle:

Not so clear from far right? Here's one more a few meters later:

Unfortunately I can't see a promising way to make it to the other side of the valley in order to reach it and I have already walked my ass off so I take a couple more pictures before doing what I hate:

Admit defeat 🙂

The looong way back to my bike means I have to go back up this slope first:

I take a new path this time:

Which leads me to more cavities that I am too tired at the moment to examine thoroughly:

(Not that they are dead easy to reach anyway)

So, after all this riding and hiking I am back to my patient trusty iron horse which will take me back home:

You can watch a video of the whole hike here:

I really hope you liked it, I truly enjoyed every bit of it despite the defeat in the end but hey, it's not that bad to have an excuse to come back in places like this right?

See you on the next one!