One early morning in September, just before sunrise, we took the car from Pantheon Apartments & Studios to drive towards the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi located beside the Kakoperato gorge on the north-west slope of Mount Kerkis. We drove up to the ridge where the wind turbines stand and turned off towards Kastanéa and passed the villages of Nikoloudes and Kosmadei on our way to the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi where we arrived after about 45 minutes of driving on winding roads in fantastic nature.
The hike we would do is the same as the last part of hiking route #11 Samos Hikes, Samos Hikes – Kosmadei – Kakoperato cave, which ends with a spectacular stretch along the cliff wall of the gorge up to the cave of Kakoperato with the small church of Panagia.
The short hike itself is relatively simple but spectacular along a path with a railing in the middle of the rock face, so you shouldn’t be afraid of heights. After just under half an hour, we arrived at the cave and could have a morning coffee while we could see the sky brightening behind the mountain massif. On the way back to the car, we walked for a while and looked at the monastery of Zoodochos Pigi and its surroundings before getting in the car to continue.
If you are going to do this hike yourself, there are several options afterwards. You can take the car directly back to the Pantheon for a heartier breakfast or other meal. Or you can continue down towards Karlovasi and then drive towards Mikro Seitani and also there make a shorter hike to take a bath. You can also, if you want to challenge yourself even more, continue on the winding road up to the Civil War Memorial and from there hike towards the chapel of the prophet Elias or all the way up to the peak Viglia.
Please note that a four-wheel drive vehicle is required to get you to the starting point of this hike and on up to the Civil War Memorial.
