Tourist routes

Around Mirina
In October 8th, 1912 at the ‘’Romaic shoreline’’ and under the imposing presence of the castle of Mirina, the Greek battleship Averof set ashore its men in order to exact the surrender of the island to the Greek Fleet.
The fleet, anchored at the Bay of Moudros, and under the command of Kountouriotis had already liberated most of the islands of north and east Aegean, consolidating thus, the Greek dominion at sea.
The castle of Mirina is picturesque and adds to the magical scenery. Despite the uphill climb to reach the castle, the walk itself is not very steep for the visitor and is well-worth the effort. The path taken is quite interesting and surprising given that the visitor will enjoy the company of deers playing joyfully around the fortifications of the castle.

 

From Mirina to Thanos
Moving southeast from Mirina, we come across the village Plati, built upon the mountainside, endowed with a beautiful view towards the bay of Plati. With a history of more than 6000 years, the village is known best for its unrivalled beauty. The distinct bay with the gorgeous sandy beach and the picturesque flowery houses scattered throughout the village, make it a perfect place for unforgettable holidays.

To Therma
We leave Mirina and head towards the airport, in order to acquaint ourselves with the north eastern part of the island. The ride is quite pleasant, the road pretty good and the terrain flat, allowing for vast agricultural cultivations. One must not forget that for ages, Limnos had been the granary of ancient Greece and Byzantium.
The area is filled with poplar and plane trees and together with the water springs they make a magnificent image altogether, emanating a sense of blissfulness. The municipality of Mirina has contributed significantly in the restoration of the spa facilities, initially constructed by Hassan Pasha, following the unfortunate outcome of 1770.
Whether you are ecotourists or lovers of exotic images and pleasures, a relaxing massage from the experienced hands of the personnel at the spa, will certainly cherish you with an unprecedented experience.


From Mirina to Kavirio
We set off from Mirina and move towards the airport. The first sign we come across points to Therma, the place with the healing waters and the spa. Just a bit further, on top of the hillock we find the church of Prophetis Elias. It is situated in such a place that invites the visitor to go hiking.
Once we cross Agios Demetrios and Livadochori, we find an intersection that leads to Nea Koutali and Kontias. We continue straight ahead for the airport until we find the road at the north of the airport that turns left and goes on for Kontopouli and Kontias.
When we reach the sign pointing to the fortress Kotsina, we take the dirt-road in order to get to the hillock that hosts the country church of Zoodohos Pigi with the marble entrance and the 65 steps descending to “Agiasma”, an ancient well that is said to draw holy water. We pass through Kontopouli and continue for Hephaestia, via an dirt-road, which after five minutes, leads us directly to the guardhouse and the archeological site.
Once we climb up the hill, all the eye can see is the blue sea. We could certainly continue our excursion via the dirt-road leading to Kavirio, but there is high risk of our vehicle stalling in the mud. We therefore return to Kontopouli and take the national asphalt road, having the salt-marsh on our right hand.
Once we come across the sign for the Sanctuary of Kavirians, we turn left. We enter the site passing through the guard’s post, which is built from volcanic stones and it’s naturally protected from the sun by a huge fig tree.

From Panagia to Cape Plaka, to the southeastern edge and back to Moudros
We pass through the flat village of Panagia with the single-storied houses and continue towards Plaka, the last village on the north-east of Limnos. The big church of Agios Demetrios at the central square of Plaka dates back to 1896 and both its pillars and the entrance are made from volcanic monoliths.
South of Kontopouli we meet Kaliopi. We move downwards the dirt-road towards the beach of Keros and there we reach the thick pine cone forest that embraces a wonderful site excellent for camping. Near-by we find the beautiful grey sandy beach of Keros and its sand hills with the white lilies.
Chortarolimni, which is quite close, is a brackish swamp that dries out during the summer. It is considered a vital lagoon for the european ecosystem and hosts a variety of endangered species such as flamingos, vavrvares and so on.
The coastal dirt-road that leads from Chortarolimni to Agia Kiriaki is indisputably very scenic, yet should be avoided during the other seasons because vehicles may stall.
We take the road to Roussopouli and enter the village Kaminia, with very old houses and a picturesque elementary school. From there, we continue towards Poliohni, with the impressive archeological site and off we go to the capes of Agios Sozontas, Agia Ireni and the beaches “louri” and “fissini”.
Crossing the bay of Parthenomitos, the road ascends to a glen that one must take in order to descend a few kilometers after. Following that and only a few kilometers away from Moudros, we find the beach of “Havouli” with shallow waters and the beach “Fanaraki”, with its crystal-clear waters.

From Nevgati beach to Nea Koutali…
Just after the beaches of Zemata and Nevgati at the Bay of Agios Pavlos, we turn right and drive towards Diapori. The area has many beautiful windmills and traditional houses made from limnian volcanic rocks, while the peninsula “Fakos” is a magnificent shelter for wild life. There are many stock-farms and a few farming facilities, known as “mandres”, which constitute significant signs of pastoral architecture.
One of the most distinct shores of the island, with a peculiar reddish sand is “Kokkina” and the color of its sand has given the beach its name. Quite close is the church of Agia Efthimia that you can visit by taking the coastline path, starting from “Kokkina”. After Diapori we pass through Tsimandria, Portianos, Neo Pedino and we reach the beach of Nea Koutali.

From Moudros to the north of Atsiki and Dafni
At the north side of the airport, the road leads to the quaint village of Atsiki and continues to Propouli. Once we enter the village and before reaching the last houses, we take the dirt-road on our right and within five kilometers reach the church of Agios Ermolaos and its beach, one of the most scenic of the entire island.
In order to get to Dafni we must return all the way back to Atsiki and from there turn north towards Katalakos. We follow the signs that point towards Gomati and Amothines. The road is the same for both sites, at least for the first 2.5 kilometers, before encountering a fork in the road.

Agios Eustratios
A rather small, volcanic island of the northeastern Aegean covering approximately 42 square Kilometers. The third and smallest island of the County of Lesvos, one of the most isolated of the Aegean sea, is located a bit to the west of Lesvos and about 20 nautical miles southwest of Limnos. The biggest plain of the island is located at the position “Alonitsi”, where it used to be an extended vineyard.
The most suitable swimming beaches that can be reached by car, are “Kalami”, “Panagia”, “Antonios”, “Lidario”, “Ftilio” and “Alonitsi”. The waters are very clean, deep and excellent for under-water fishing.
Vegetation lacks both in quantity and in variety, yet the few greeny areas covered by oak-trees are found mainly in the north-east. The port of Agios Stratis, at the region, bearing the same name, is quite small and transportation is hectic, but its vivid scenery pays off for the visitor. The total population of the island does not exceed three hundred people and the main occupation is fishing. Cattle-raising and farming is practiced to a lesser extent and only in the few regions suitable for such activities.