Green Gavdos: Ag. Ioannis - Kastri - Faros - Ampelos - Fragediana

This is a roundtrip on Gavdos island, starting near Agios Ioannis Beach and leading you to the lighthouse and a beautiful green forest area in the center of the island.

Technical skills: Medium. About 50% of the tour are on well-maintained forest tracks, 25% on paved roads, and 25% on single trails. Some basic mountain biking experience is required, meaning that you should be able to ride your bike over some loose rocks and gravel. The tour can be done without full suspension, a regular hard-tail mountain bike will do well (you can even rent some simple MTBs at the starting point, just ask for the bike rental guy at "Sofia Rooms").

Physical difficulty: Medium. This is a rather short tour, there are no steep climbs but some steady uphill sections.

Things to bring: 2 Liters of water, a banana or energy bar, a helmet.

Things to see: The beautifully renovated lighthouse with a great view over the Libyan Sea +++ Ampelos, a remote village, where only an old woman and her son live +++ the surprisingly green forest +++ Fragediana, an abandoned village in the middle of the forest

There are two tavernas and a bakery on the way in Kastri. Check out "Gogo's Place" for tasty and authentic cretan food made of local ingrediences.

Note: Avoid forest fires! Please don't smoke in the forest. Don't throw away bottles or garbage. Watch out for hikers, and don't scare away the goats. There may be some fences / gates on the forest tracks: If they are closed, close them again behind you to prevent the goats from running away. :)

Note: All photos by kernpanik, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0