Moni - Fanari - Apiranthos (trail no 8)

Trail starts from the small village of Moni. As indicated by the respective signs, the duration should be about 2, 2,5h. It crosses the village moving East until reaching the start of the trail after 5 minutes of walking. At that point it turns right and starts moving upwards between fields and vegetation. At some point, after (aprox) 10-15 min of walking you will find a mark with the number "8" pointing to the right (see waypoint). Not sure whether this is a new detour, but I continued straight and it worked out ok, having to open and close a fence door and walk for 2-3 min inside a dry (in October) stream with high vegetation. Moving upwards into the stream, you will need to make a right before reaching to its end (I lost the exit point and moved a bit further, thus, having to move backwards again for 3-4 min.). Exiting the stream, trail moves south on a relatively flat area, having a forest on the left and nice view of Naxos landscape and Paros on the right. Making a left turn after about 10-15 min of walking, you descend a bit to cross another stream before you start ascending for about 30 - 40 minutes on a well preserved trail that is full of rocks. At this point, we saw 4 beautiful eagles flying above our heads. Reaching to the end of the trail, you meet a dirt road and you should go right to find the intersection for Panagia Fanariotisa and Apiranthos. Continuing on the dirt road, after leaving the intersection, you will need about 15 minutes to the chapel at the top of Fanari mountain. The view is beautiful. From there you walk back to the intersection and you need about 20 min. to arrive to the center of the village.
The trail is a bit demanding in terms of stamina, if you are not used to move upwards on a relatively steep, rocky terrain. Apart from that, it is safe and nice to follow with some very nice views of the inland of Naxos and the surrounding islands. I did not find any water on the way.
It should be noted that most people do the trail the other way, starting from Apirantos and ending at Moni. While this makes the route a bit more interesting, as you have the view of Paros etc. in front of you descending from the mountain, I think it might be more tiring for the legs, as the terrain is rocky and you may have to be a bit more careful.
Enjoy!