Another superb climb from Eglouvi up Mnimati (at 1,157m Lefkada’s second highest peak) and then out along a ridge to an amazing viewpoint (Katharia Rachi) over Nidri bay. Best combined with Eglouvi to Psili Rachi (A5). As A4 is pretty steep it is best to go up A4 and down A5. This combined route is my favourite from Eglouvi.
4.8km.
514m ascent.
Trail on Gaia GPS >
Download GPX route >
Infrequent bus to Eglouvi from Lefkada and Karya
Tavernas and accommodation in Eglouvi
Links to trails back down to Eglouvi
Start in Eglouvi in the main square with the tavernas. If you haven’t got water fill up now – there will be no more drinking water until you get back down. I suggest at least a litre a person minimum. There is a tap next to the plane tree or buy from the tavernas.
Go up and round to the left of the tavernas and down the narrow path to the right. You will soon see the sign for the start of three trails. You will follow A4, and A1 will accompany you as far as the windmills. If you only want a nice short walk going just to the windmills this can make a good evening stroll. For those going on up A4 you get two trails in one. Come down A5, as recommended, and get all three.
You will follow red and yellow paint markers and A4 signs all the way to the top of this trail. They are pretty clear for most of the way.
Walk through the quiet village roads until you see a monopati heading up to the left up the hill. Follow this diagonally up until you reach the windmills.
After exploring those and enjoying the view take the track up to the right behind the windmills. Follow to a surfaced road. Turn left and follow around a few bends until there is an unsurfaced track going off right. The track has a yellow arrow painted on the road pointing where you need to go. Beware there is a second track a few hundred metres later also with a yellow arrow. Make sure you take the first.
The track approaches a vineyard where a monopati branches off left. It skirts around the vineyard and starts to climb the ridge. The monopati now goes up the crest of the ridge to its top. This is a steep climb but you get fantastic views all the way up – a real classic. There isn’t much shade but it is well worth the effort.
At the top of the ridge the monopati becomes a narrow track going past a very small lentil field (make sure you go round not over). The track turns right, to head up to the radio masts on the top of Mnimati, but the A4 monopati actually goes straight on and slightly downwards. Make sure you don’t miss the monopati yellow dots.
The monopati is now much easier following down to a small pass and then gently up the ridge to the top of the peak. Finally you get to the sign indicating the end of the A4 on Katharia Rachi.
Below you is a wonderful view down to Nidri – with all of the Inland Sea and islands behind. If you have eaten at one of the tavernas at Geni and looked up – this is the steep crag fringed peak you will have seen above you. A fantastic place to sit and enjoy the view. Stand where Odysseus did.
For those that can’t face the climb you can drive to the radio masts on Mnimati and walk just the last 1.5km along the ridge. Good on a hot day as the air is usually much fresher up here.
For those going back to Eglouvi head back to the radio masts. Here either go back down the way you came up – or follow the road around to the left a short way to where the Eglouvi to Psili Rachi (A5) trail crosses the road. Go down this to Eglouvi. If you want to get good views to the south use the Mount Elati Five Peak Loop route to take a longer path to the A5 trail.
Spanking good work! What a fabulous resource. I will be coming to Lefkada for 10 days at the end of August on a walking holiday and will be using your example hikes. The problem is I am stuck in the 14th Century and only have a simple text and call phone which does not have internet. I am 60 after all!
Would like to ask if your walks are available in a pamphlet/book, as except for the tedious method of handwriting everything out I will have no access to the walks once I arrive? Does the Tourist Information office have anything remotely similar? Presumably there is a walking map available on the island, or at least a fair sized touring map?
As I don’t do things like Instagram or Facebook I am sadly unable to communicate properly with you (which is probably a good thing for you!) Any help and guidance would be appreciated.
Having visited Greece many times over the last 30 odd years I thought I had expended all the best walking locations but clearly I overlooked Lefkada (I once visited but only Lefkas town to get a bus to the Peloponnese). The mountains and countryside look stunning and I can’t wait to get my teeth (and legs) into them.
Appreciations
Richard Moss
Hi Richard, thanks for your very kind comments. Also asking for a paper version of the website. Spookily, I am hard at work doing a book version that will soon be available on Amazon. Hopefully it will be available later this summer, maybe in time for your visit. In the meantime, are you able to print any of the pages? If you can find a way to message me I can see if I can send a draft PDF version of the book, if that helps too.
Hello Colincoop. Presumably you are Colin Cooper, or else you are the owner of a brand of UK supermarkets called Co-op (cooperative)!?
Well fancy that – you doing a book. That must qualify me for a generous discount without a shadow of a doubt! I shall certainly keep an eye out for it on Amazon.
A PDF version in the meantime would be an alternative although it would cost me a fortune printing it out at the local library, and probably twice the cost of the book. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks again.
Richard Moss
Hi Richard,
I am Colin Cooper indeed. At your service. The Amazon book is now just a few days away from being available on amazon.co.uk with their other European sites soon after. It is just going through the Amazon final vetting process. It will be a mere £12.00 (that just covers the cost of printing, Amazon’s cut and other costs). So I hope you will get a copy, and even better, review it after.
It may also help you, but we have added a printable hiking map of Lefkada – an indexed book of twelve A4 sized pages as a PDF. So if you can print just that at least you can follow the trails at 1:33,000 scale with contours.
We hope you enjoy Lefkada – and may even see you on one of the trails. Interesting you have hiked many parts of Greece, us too. And we think Lefkada is one of the best for day-hikes.
Best, Colin.
Ay up Colin Cooper (aka Colincoop which you will always be in my eyes!). Blimey, Amazon seem to have pulled all their fingers, thumbs, and toes out in getting your book to publishing stage. They must have got wind that I will be gracing my presence on the island at the end of August, and therefore spotted an opportunity of weeding £12 out of a tight-fisted Yorkshireman! Still, It will be worth it, and saves me the tiresome process of photocopying wads of paper at the library. Only hope I don’t repeat what I did a few years back when I left the Sunflower Guide to Crete on a mountainside. Would not have minded so much but it was a library book and ended up having to pay for it!
Of particular interest to me are the higher level routes, namely the A3, 4, and 5 and the Day 4. Can’t wait to get my teeth into those. I will be relying on the bus service as I have absolutely no intention of renting a car. Having perused the KTEL timetable I note that most buses to the mountain villages depart at a woefully early time in the morning which is enough to make me weep, although the Eglouvi service sets off at the slightly more comforting time of 7.30. Karya even has one leaving at 10.15 I think. Hopefully they will roll out more buses during the peak summer season like they seem to do on many islands.
I am staying in Lefkada town to take advantage of more bus services from here.
I eat, sleep, and breathe Greece as I find the scenery stunning with so much variety, not to mention the safety, the people, the food and of course the wonderful climate. All these compensate for the uncouth trait of accommodation providers thinking that their customers love getting wrapped up in mouldy shower curtains, in impossibly small shower cubicles!
As for some of my favourite hiking I rate Amorgos highly as I do Samos, although I hurt my foot on a stick coming down from Vigla (Mt Kerkis), and therefore had to hole myself up in Ikaria and never got to walk there. Karpathos was decent as was Folegandros despite not having high ascent routes. The Arcadia region of Peloponnese is also a favourite of mine. Obviously Crete has much going for it, and Andros wasn’t bad. Last year I was on Kefalonia and Ithaka. The latter I liked. Parts of Corfu are nice. On the mainland the Epiros region was awesome and the Vikos gorge.
Shame the prices are not as good as they were back in the Drachma days of the 80’s and 90’s!
Anyway no doubt I have bored you with blowing my own trumpet, I am sure you have your favourites which would inspire me.
Take care
Cheers
Richard
Oopps sorry to bother you again Colin C, but forgot to mention a few other areas that brought me joy and satisfaction on my Greek travels. I completely forgot about the Dodecanese. My favourite was Tilos which was very peaceful and laid back and had great walking. I also liked Symi and to a lesser extent Kalymnos. Back on the mainland a location that seemed very different from the typical Greek scenery was the Pelion peninsula near Volos. Many people rave about Naxos, but to be honest it did not pique my fancy I’m sorry to say.
I am positive my experience to come in Lefkada will rank right up there with the greats—-unless of course you have hoodwinked me by fabricating all photos and trekking routes in a gallant attempt to prize £12 from me!
Take care
Richard
Hi Richard.
Thanks for both your messages. Sounds like you have seen an awful lot of Greece. We are of one mind on its multiple virtues. We hope you will enjoy Lefkada. The mountains are not as high as other parts of Greece, being similar to the more mountainous parts of the UK. But that makes them easier for day walking, especially if solo. The A4 and A5 are good routes – indeed I was up there yesterday doing the Elati five peak. But don’t ignore Proftis Ilias from Eglouvi or Karya as it is almost as high and stunningly pretty on top. If you are going to do all by bus that will be tricky. As you have seen, most bus timetable are geared to villagers shopping in Lefkada Town in the morning, and not so good for hiking. My “getting around Lefkada” page proposes some routes for bus users, but more on the eastern side of the island. The Lefkada Town to Nidri/Vlyho being one of the few bus routes running all day. Skaros is pretty and very steep down to the sea, even if only half the height of Elati. So if relying 100% on buses you may need to look more over there. Mind you there are buses back from Karya at 16:00 and Syvros at 15:15 – so opening up more of the central area if you are happy to set of very early and end early afternoon. That is good for heat of course. Anyway I hope you enjoy your trip, and we look forward to hearing your comments about the trails. And thanks for the £12 for Amazon – we have had a lot of positive comments already about the book – and hope it helps you. I suggest supplementing it with a map too, either the new free A4 sized map book (PDF on our website) or the “Lefkada Tour and Trail Map” If you print our free PDF map that is only 12 pages (plus index). I would have put more maps in the book, but the page area is a bit small for anything very useful. But there are some in there too. All the best, Colin.
Dear Colin C
Many thanks for your email. Despite me going to Greece more times than I care to remember I still cannot speak more than a few basic words which is utterly deplorable on my part. It’s all Greek to me!
As regards buses the 7.00 to Eglouvi will just have to do plus of course the Karya service is much more sensible at 10.15. Will bear in mind the Profitis Ilias walk. Wish I had a Euro for every time I have climbed one of those named hills!
You will be ecstatic to find out I have just purchased your book. Don’t you dare go out and spend the royalty from it on a bottle of Ouzo and dance the night away on a table top in town!
Right then I will leave you in peace and meanwhile I must plan for my month long trip to the Balkans, and a coach holiday to Devon with my mum (the latter hopefully making me feel younger than I actually am!)
Once again many thanks for all your help and no doubt I will be bombarding you with tedious questions as my trip gets closer.
Regards
Richard
By the way Colin C there’s no such thing as “free” (in relation to your PDF map download on your website). It cost me 60p to print 6 pages of your maps at the library today! Not only that but the place names are in Greek—-best get that Lonely Planet Greek phrasebook after all!
Amazon have dispatched your book which apparently will arrive tomorrow. It’s all very exciting!
Take care
Richard
Dear Colin C
Last night I became the proud new owner of the Lefkada Trails book!
Cheers
Richard Moss
Hope you enjoy it and Lefkada. Would love to hear from you after.
This is a great walk, very well marked.
Follow the recommendations on the street regarding the direction to walk.
After a view meters on the street the path goes up in the forrest. Later there will be aggressive free dogs. We did not pass and returned. We took the street before you can go up in the Forrest and after several 100 meters we came back to marks of the trail.
Not the nicest way, but safety first.
We have reported these dogs to the local residents – who will ensure the dogs are dealt with. Strays are pretty uncommon on Lefkada as those that get loose are caught. Sorry you met some though. It is always worth reporting at the local taverna – they will know who to tell.
Dear Colin C,
This is bizarre as I have been meaning to ask you about the general situation with dogs on the island as they are not mentioned in the book. Low and behold up pops a comment about them, followed by your reply. Without doubt dogs have caused me no end of problems in the past in various places in Europe and further afield. Whenever I hear/see sheep I go into panic mode, not because of the sheep, but because where there are sheep there are also sheepdogs. What is the situation on the walks, particularly in the mountains? If there are farm dogs are they generally with the shepherds, or are they on their own with the sheep? Also dogs that are kept as a deterrent to thieves/burglars, are they safely behind gates generally or allowed to roam freely around the property?
Maybe I fret too much as on most Greek islands it has been fine.
Many thanks
Richard Moss
Thanks for asking. Over five years walking on Lefkada, up to now I would have said we’ve never had a problem with wild dogs in the hills. The dogs we met (or rather heard) were either locked in compounds, on a chain, or with a goatherd/shepherd.
This year we’ve had two reports of other meeting dogs on the loose. A dog also bit my wife. These have all been around Eglouvi. I believe this is because the lentil growers have been suffering from an increase in the wild boar population damaging the crop – and some famers have resorted to releasing the dogs. At least, after we checked, that was the excuse given by the owner of the one that bit my wife. That dog is no longer loose.
Letting dogs loose is not approved of, and when we speak with others in Eglouvi, they say they will deal with it/speak to the owners – as I reported with the incident today. The village actively encouragers hikers and so this is incompatible with that.
The harvest is now over, so that “excuse” has gone. So there should be no problem this autumn. I will check with the relevant groups in Eglouvi and report back. These dogs should not be loose.
We’ve encounter this problem in other parts of Greece – Lefkada, to now, has been good at dealing with it. Stray dogs are rounded up. Some do get loose or abandoned, as anywhere else, but are not ignored when spotted.
So thats the full answer. If I hear more I will report back here.
We have checked again – and the owner of the dogs is known and they should not be a problem anymore. Lefkada is generally good at dealing with this issue. One should always be prepared and I do give advice on the Safety page – which my wife and I actually employed in practice earlier this year.
Dear Colin C,
Many thanks for the reply. It is good to hear that Lefkada as an island seems to quickly deal with any nuisance dogs. Hopefully I won’t attract any! They do give me the heebeegeebies and make me come out in spots. I had to abort the best walk on Kefalonia last year due to the blighters. Most uncouth!
Regards
Richard