Already the last full day on Naxos, and we’re spending it hiking to the top of Mount Zas, the highest point in the Cyclades island chain. At around a thousand meters, it’s hardly a high mountain.
Morning didn’t start exactly as planned. We planned to stop at a gyro place near the bus terminal around noon and then catch the 13:30 bus to Filoti. After our morning coffee at The Rebel Project and stopping at the bus stop to buy our four tickets (there and back), the gyro place was still not open. We had to resolve ourselves to a third and last stop at the Apothecary. It is conveniently located right next to the bus station.
The bus ride was unremarkable. We learned that, regardless of the route number you think you need to take, it's best to double-check with the driver to ensure they’re going where you’re going. Not having checked, we would have gotten on the wrong bus. Getting on a bus to the middle of nowhere is par for the course when hiking, managing to miss it and end up in the middle of somewhere else is both a massive waste of time and a sucky adventure.
The nine-kilometre loop to the top of Mount Zas (Zeus) is an actual national trail with red and white markings. It’s trail number two. We decided to start with the steepest ascent and go for the lower grade descent. It’s more work going up, but the steep descents on loose rocks and sand can be technical and tiring. It’s when you’re going down a mountain that you get to enjoy the view uninterrupted, assuming you’re not stuck looking at your feet the whole damn time because it’s steep and slippery.
We took our time. Doing the six-hundred-meter ascent under the sun in 30°C weather without wind took more out of us than expected. We’re usually pretty good in the warm and dry, but this wasn’t our day. We skipped the last half kilometre to the actual summit, which would have added another hundred-meter elevation, and called it good enough before making our way down. We’ve read reviews of the trail not being well marked, but disagreed strongly for most of it. Yes, towards the summit, finding the blaze amongst the proliferation of kerns that are unhelpfully outside the trail is hard, and direction signage is spray-painted on the rocks in Greek, but you’ll hardly get lost. The last kilometre of the way down, however, is another story altogether. We did an eight-hundred-meter stretch without a single marking in what looked like a series of abandoned farms on a hill. It was so bad that finding the next, and last, seven hundred meters of the trail was positively easy, not because there were abundant markings, there were a precious few, but because it was between two stone fences, making it hard to lose our way.
We arrived back in town thirty minutes ahead of the 18:45 bus. Happy not to have missed it, and relieved not to have been stuck waiting until 20:45 for the next one. A shower and a recharge later, we’re out for dinner.
The 20:30 rule failed us at our first stop—a well-rated restaurant next door to our hotel. Wait time was about an hour, and we were warned that it would be a limited menu by then. We went to the other well-rated restaurant, 5 minutes from us: Scirocco. The food was great, the service efficient. Not rushed, but there was no wait. Almost as soon as our starters were done, our mains showed up. I appreciated their wine menu, which included the origin, grape variety, category (ranging from dry to sweet in Greece), and a description of each wine. Finding a white wine from the Cyclades that’s dry, mineral, with a floral finish was straight in our wheelhouse. We left super happy with our meal.
Tomorrow we’re heading out to Santorini for our last four-night stay on an island.
Places
Scirocco Cafe Restaurant · Plateia Petroi Evipaioi, Naxos 843 00, Greece
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The Naxos Apothecary · Protopapadaki 13, Naxos 843 00, Greece
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The Rebel Project | coffee, brunch, drinks, cocktails & more · Naxos 843 00, Greece
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Mount Zas (Zeus) · Drimalia 843 02, Greece
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Filoti - Za (Naxos Zeus) - Za Cave Loop, Naxos, Greece - 461 Reviews, Map | AllTrails
Filoti - Za - Za Cave Loop (Φιλότι - Κορυφή Ζα - Σπήλαιο Ζα κυκλική) The trail begins and ends at the largest village of Naxos, Filoti. The ascent follows the easier route and is directed to the east, passing by the Agios Romanos chapel. The trail then turns south to the peak, the highest point in the Cyclades islands. The panoramic view from the top to the entire island and surrounding sea is amazing. The descent is challenging as it is steeper and not well marked. Cairns and red dots help mark the trail that reaches the Cave of Za at an altitude of about 600m. During the summer, you may want to start early to avoid the heat.
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