Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The northeast
he
northeast
, at least beyond the suburban resorts near Corfu Town, is the most
typically Greek part of Corfu - it's mountainous, with a rocky coastline chopped into
pebbly bays and coves, above wonderfully clear seas.
Dhassiá and Ýpsos
Six kilometres from Corfu Town the coastline begins to improve at
Dhafníla
and
DHASSIÁ
, set in adjacent wooded bays with pebbly beaches. The latter, the first
worthwhile place to stop in this direction, is much larger and contains nearly all the
area's facilities, including a trio of
watersports
enterprises.
ÝPSOS
,
2km north of Dhassiá, can't really be recommended to anyone but
hardened bar-hoppers, though it is home to a diving centre (see opposite). The thin
pebble beach lies right beside the busy coast road, and the resort is generally
pretty tacky.
11
Barbáti
At
BARBÁTI
, 4km north of Ýpsos, you'll find the sandiest beach on this coast, though
its charm has been somewhat diminished recently by the construction of the
gargantuan
Riviera Barbati
apartment complex. The beach is a favourite with families
and much accommodation is prebooked in advance.
Agní, Kalámi and Kouloúra
The first of three unmissable pebbly coves you encounter when travelling north from
largely missable Nissáki is
AGNÍ
, a favourite mooring spot for yachties, largely because
of its well-established reputation as something of a gourmet's paradise.
KALÁMI
, around 3km north of Agní, is somewhat commercialized, but the village is
still small and you can imagine how it would have looked in the year Lawrence Durrell
spent here on the eve of World War II. The
White House
, where Durrell wrote
Prospero's
Cell
, is now split in two: the ground floor is an excellent taverna, while the upper floor
houses exclusive accommodation.
The tiny harbour of
KOULOÚRA
, barely a kilometre north of Kalámi, has managed to
keep its charm intact, set at the edge of an unspoilt bay with nothing to distract from
the pine trees and
kaïkia
apart from its idyllically located taverna.
MOUNT PANDOKRÁTOR
Mount Pandokrátor
, Corfu's highest mountain, is crowned by the moderately interesting
Pandokrátoras monastery
, whose main sanctuary, built in the seventeenth century, is open
to visitors; nothing remains of the original buildings from three centuries earlier.
The most direct route from the south is signposted via Spartýlas and then the village of
Strinýlas
, a popular base for walkers served by buses from Corfu Town. An alternative
approach from the north coast goes via Loútses to the charming ghost village of
Áno
Períthia
, from where you are a steep 5km from the summit and can only climb any higher on
foot or in a four-wheel drive. Apart from taking a quick peek at the crumbling remains of half a
dozen churches, there is good eating in the village. The main westerly route ascends via
Láfki
to
Petália
, just south of which a paved road leads the final 5km east to the summit.
Anyone interested in walking the Pandokrátor paths is advised to get the
map
of the
mountain by island-based cartographer Stephan Jaskulowski or one of Hilary Whitton-Paipeti's
walking books, available from the better English-language bookshops in Corfu Town.
renowned for succulent goat and home-produced feta
cheese. The views are splendid too, of course.
Noon-
midnight: May-Sept daily; Oct-April Sat & Sun
.
RESTAURANT
Ì
Old Perithia
Áno Períthia
T
26630 98055.
Wor th
climbing any mountain for, this traditional taverna is
