Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
the harbour offer a comparable st
and
ard and setting to the
hotels, at better rates. May-Oct.
€40
Artemis
T
22750 71485,
E
artemis-studio@ikaria.gr.
With rooms overlooking the river canyon from the cliff above,
this rambling place provides great-value, c
omfo
rtable and
well-appointed accommodation. May-Sept.
€30
NAS
EATING, DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE
rooms above (€30), this friendly taverna on the harbour
approach road has a sea-view terrace, open for breakfast,
where you can enjoy tasty home-cooking such as rabbit
stifádho
and roast lamb. Great barrelled wine too.
April-
Oct daily 8am-1am.
ARMENISTÍS
Casmir
Livádhi beach.
One of the island's most enduring
clubs acts as a beach bar during the day and pumps out foreign
and Greek hits by night.
June-Sept daily 11am-late.
Ì
Kiallaris (aka tis Eleftherias)
Yialiskári
T
22750
71227.
Mid-seafront taverna that's tops for well-executed
mayireftá
and the freshest fish, all caught locally. Especially
good for fish soup and
melitzanosaláta
.
May to early Oct
daily 11am-2am.
Paradhosiaka Glyka (Kioulanis)
T
22750 71150.
On
the road down to the harbour, this is one of the Aegean's
star
zaharoplastía
, featuring addictive
karydhópita
(walnut
cake) with goat's-milk, mastic-flavoured ice cream and
other sweet delights.
May-Oct daily 8am-1am; reduced
winter hours.
Ì
Paskhalia
T
22750 71302.
With a few inexpensive
NAS
O Nas
T
22750 71486.
With a huge terrace on the cliff
that has the best bay views, this place offers pasta, grills
and oven-baked dishes, plus there's a good bakery.
May-
Sept daily noon-midnight.
Thea
T
22750 71491,
W
theasinn.com.
On the east cliff,
this long-standing favourite has lots of vegetarian options
like
soufikó
and pumpkin-filled
pítta
. Also has a few rooms.
6pm-1pm: May-Oct daily, Nov-April weekends; from
noon in late July & Aug.
The Ráhes villages
Armenistís was originally the port of four inland hamlets - Áyios Dhimítrios, Áyios
Polýkarpos, Kastaniés and Khristós - collectively known as
Ráhes
. Curiously, these
already served as “hill station” resorts during the 1920s and 1930s, with three hotels,
since long-gone, and the only tourism on the island. Despite the modern, paved access
roads through the pines, the settlements retain a certain Shangri-La quality, with older
residents speaking a positively Homeric dialect.
On an island not short of foibles, these villages are particularly strange in that most
locals sleep until 11am or so, move around until about 4pm, then have another nap
until 8pm, whereupon they rise and spend most of the night shopping, eating and
drinking, in particular excellent home-brewed
wine
traditionally kept in goatskins.
EATING AND DRINKING
THE RÁHES VILLAGES
Kapilio
Khristós
T
22750 41517.
Right in the main
pedestrian zone, this good, inexpensive carnivorous supper
option serves mainly grills, with the odd dish from the oven
and some simple salads.
Daily 6pm-4am.
WALKING IN WESTERN IKARÍA
Although bulldozers and forest fires have reduced the number of attractive possibilities,
walking
between Ráhes and both coasts on old paths is a favourite visitor activity. A locally produced,
accurate map-guide,
The Round of Ráhes on Foot
, shows most asphalt roads, tracks and trails in
the west of the island, as well as a
loop-hike
taking in the best of the Ráhes villages. The
well-marked route sticks partly to surviving paths; the authors suggest a full day for the circuit,
with ample rests, though total walking time won't exceed six hours. The highlight is the section
from Khristós to Kastaniés, which takes in the Hárakos ravine with its Spanédhon watermill.
Those wishing to traverse across Ikaría are best advised to keep on a “Round of Ráhes”
sub-route from Khristós to Karydhiés, from where a historic path crosses the lunar Ammoudhiá
uplands before dropping spectacularly southeast to Managanítis on the south coast, a
generous half-day's outing from Armenistís.
FROM TOP
NAS BEACH, IKARÍA (P.617); VATHÝ, SÁMOS (P.601) >
