Assini Walk and Beautiful Views

1 hour 20 minutes. 3.8 miles by Eric’s pedometer. This is a loop walk and ends in a town that should be able to serve you lunch although it was shuttered up at 2:00 when we were looking. We took this walk on April 18, 2003 in drizzle.

Take the Tolo Road to Assini, a small village just past Lefkakia toward Tolo. This is where we began our walk. (Asini also is an ancient site which is located on the beach. You reach it by taking a left off the Tolo Road past the town.) (You can take a drive to the ridge, if you do not want to walk, by the right marked Monastery of Meamophosis just past Lefkakia on the Tolo Road. If you get to Asini you’ve gone too far.)

Once in the village, Park on the main street somewhere. Walk up into the hill on which the town sits, through the residential section. At the high point in the village is a small school playground and church. Just over the high point of the residential section and to the left of the playground, you will see a concrete road headed down behind the town. Take this and soon it starts up into the hills. After a bit the road goes in front of a narrow (railroad car shaped) house on your right and a fenced field of olive trees and peacocks on your right. At the end of this field the concrete ends and the road forks.

We took the left fork which climbed steadily, heading east and south. In time we came to a white house on our left with some small plots with trailer homes. Continuing on the dirt track you come to another fork just below a home. We took the right fork which follows the hill around toward the south and then west. The road was level and then went up briefly to join, believe it or not, a good quality tar road. At the junction sat a bench under a pine tree.

We turned right, toward the west, and walked the road for just ¼ mile, to a dirt road that went down to our right and up to our left. We could have continued on this road for a long time. It was easy walking and beautiful views. We also could have gone up on the track to our left and in due course it looked like it would take us to a ridge from which we could look down onto the Argolikos Gulf and Napflio. Instead, we turned right down this track and ended up back at the fenced olive grove with peacocks. At the corner of this field, a left turn brings you to the concrete road and back into Asini.

We wanted to stop for soup and inquired about a good taverna. We were directed to Taverna Stecki (“Peach Pit”) in the center of town on your left as you come from Lefkakia. It was closed midday in April—only open in the evening.