Round hike west Methana

In order to get to know the landscape of Methana, the circular hike over the mountains to the historic volcano and the ancient acropolis is particularly worthwhile. It is a hike for which you should plan a whole day, so that you can lie comfortably in a meadow or look for plants and ancient remains in an interesting area.

From Methana, go up the road with little traffic at the village church of Agia Trianda towards Dritseika and turn left at the first crossroads until you come to the crossroads on the Throni plateau.
There you go straight towards the mountains.

After about 250 meters, on the left behind the bushes, is the ancient defense tower from the year 340 BC. Then it's a long climb uphill on the little-used mountain road. There are always magnificent views of the city of Methana.

At some point it goes up to the chapel of Agios Panteleimonas on the left. (You could also take a taxi to get here. Approx. €12-16). Follow the road and then pass the Matina & Vangelis farm. Caution! The dogs barking violently there can be kept at a distance if you clearly pick up stones. Most of the time, the mutts will take off on their own. If necessary, stones are thrown in their direction, but of course NOT at the dogs.

Those who are afraid of the dogs can try to find the path that goes along the mountain slope in the first turn after the chapel and after the ancient farm.

Otherwise, follow the road up to the bend where you can clearly see the small pumice quarry. At its end, the path goes up to the Loutesa plateau.
There you can take a break at the cisterns and maybe you will see one of the tree frogs in the bushes...

The trail goes north on the mountainside at the east end of the plateau through small forests and below the Chelona plateau. If you take a close look at this in Google Earth View, you can also climb up to the highest peak Chelona via ancient terraces earlier.

Otherwise, at some point in the forest, after about 1 km, a path goes left up to the summit. There you can discover ancient remains in the bushes on the plateau. If you feel like it, you can also climb up to the summit opposite...

The normal route does not go to the summit, but to the Varkesa plateau with its ancient and prehistoric remains. Easy to find is the stone wall and cisterns behind it, all of which have the remains of an ancient sanctuary. South of this are two conspicuous wine presses under pine trees. One of them has the shape of a boat and gave the plateau the name Varkesa = barque = boat.

At the northern edge of the plateau, follow the road until you reach the mountain road and follow it to the left.Magnificent views of the Makrylongos plateau and the northern edge volcanoes of the peninsula!

Down at the west end of the plateau there is a volcanic bomb in the curve and on the mountainside opposite one of the most beautiful ancient cisterns. If you have time, you can also hike across the fields of the plateau. This plateau alone can fill a day...
If you follow the mountain road, after 200 meters there is an old stone slab path on the left, which you follow. You will soon come to the ruins of an old village and the chapel of Sotiros. A huge threshing floor lends itself as a place to take a break.

Continue across the fields until you come to the road again. You can now follow this to the historical volcano and village of Kameni Chora.

If you are lucky, Theodoros Joannou's tavern, the Vinetherapy , is open and you can get some refreshments there.

Then follow the road with little traffic to the port of Vathy. There in the harbor and on the coast there are some good taverns with fresh fish and other specialities.
If you don't go to the port and move towards the beach, there you will pass several taverns and at the end there is also the ancient Acropolis of Methana. In front of it there is a good fish tavern. You can see the Acropolis and walk to Methana by road or you can call a taxi back at the taverna.

I posted a video of this hike on Youtube, which you can find under this link!
youtu.be/9JXedWqL_cU

Map Download (PDF)

Here you can download for your private use the hiking map as a PDF! (3.5 M)

Download der Route mit Infos als .kmz