Naxos Places to visit Traveling Naxos 1st Route: Chora - Chalki - Filoti - Apiranthos - Koronida  
 

A long gorgeous road leads into the heart of the island. A variety of landscapes, monuments and traditional villages are what you come across.

Leaving Agidia we travel through the evergreen "Livadi", the most fertile plain of Naxos. The main road traverses Galanado and leads to the Venetian castle Belonia, rising proud ahead.

Going towards Chalki, on the right side of the road, we come across Sagri, an area full of castles (Sommaripa, Della Roka, Paleologou and Barozzi) and Byzantine churches (St. Anargyroi, St. Ioanni -built in the place of the ancient temple of Dimitra [530 BC]-, St. Eleftherios, Virgin Mary the Kaloritissa in the SE and St. Nicolas in the South).

The scenery changes as we turn again onto the main road and enter the all green and full of olive trees basin of Tragea. Castles and fortresses of the Venetian era along with Byzantine churches full of frescos, sculptures and inscriptions, captivate our eyes like the church of Virgin Mary the Protothroni, of St. George the Diasoritis and the Venetian castle Barotsi home of the local feudal families.

Damalas -Damarionas, Chalki and other small traditional villages surround Tragea. From Tragea you can get to Moni, a tinny village build on high with an incredible view. There you can admire the frescos of the church of Virgin Mary the Drosiani that are rare in Greece.

We return to Tragea and head towards the foot of the mountain Za. The village Filoti is built on the tops of two hills, with the church of Virgin Mary the Filotissa and the Castle of Barotsi standing in the middle of it.

From Filoti we can go to the castle of Himaros that was built in the 4th century BC and is one of the most ancient and significant sites on the island. Further away from Filoti is Apiranthos, a village with intense Venetian influence, with Virgin Mary the Apirathitissa and 3 important museums (archeological, folk and geological). This village has unique customs and a rich folkloric tradition.

From Aperathos, the road leads to the picturesque and traditional Koronos, with a small stop in Stavros of Keramoti.

Across from Koronos is Skado, after that is Mesi and Komiaki, the most northern and of highest elevation village of Naxos, which ends in the beach of Apollo
 

Next page: the 2nd Route

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