MODERATE WALKSPhotographs GOAT PATH WALK 1.5 hours
- Starting from The Ark, you will take the path below the grounds to the west as far as the first stone houseu. This is built around a huge "rock oak" tree and is traversed by a lower path.
- To the east, this lower path is initially edged by a concrete wall before it turns sharply down the hillside towards the pumping station that supplies the village (including your accommodation) with water straight from a mountain spring.
- Below the pumping station you will turn to the east onto a path on the side of a steep cliffv. You will need a head for heights but the path is not difficult and, depending on the time of year, you will encounter gems like a tortoise crawling out from hibernation or a blue-brown crab sunning itself on a stone.
- The path also offers a view that proportions both the modern village and the ancient city of Phigaleia in relation to the gorge that lies beneath. You will feel as if you are soaring with the eagles and, if you are lucky, you might see one using the rising air above the Neda gorge to ascend above it.
- Eventually, you will arrive at a small shrinew where the path starts to zig-zag further down the side of the hillside until it joins the lower village trackx. From here you have a choice of return journey.
- You can take the track east to join the tarmac road from Platania.
- Alternatively, you can follow the track west until it joins the steep road that climbs forever upwards through Kato Rouga ('lower village').
- Whilst walking along the track keep an eye out for waterfalls hidden in the cliff face. These are perfect places if you want to cool down or just like frolicking in the cool blue pools that form below the falls.
- Other routes back to The Ark involve uphill village paths - the choice is yours.
xCheck out the lower village track
