“a Population of Three”
Boulari (Diporo) – Pepo – Leontaki – Boulari
Timings
- Around 2 1/2 hours in total
- Boulari to Pepo: 1 hr
- Pepo to Leontaki: 30 mins
- Liontaki to Boulari: 1 hr
- map
Nature of walk
A real step back in time as the walk follows the old path that at one time linked the hill villages of Pepo and Leontaki to Boulari and the coast at Gerolimenas. The path is rocky but clear of vegetation and follows the course of the dry riverbed below, climbing steadily from 200m to 500m. The views back down get increasingly more dramatic. Both Pepo and Leontaki are seriously depopulated (the later now has 3 full time residents) and the imagination kicks into overdrive getting a feel for what life must have been like here in days gone by- you can’t help but marvel at the effort that went into creating such an extensive amount of terracing. The beginning of the walk, with the landmark ‘twin towers’ of Leontaki crowning the hill in front of you, may suggest that it is hard going. This is not really the case as the path gradually skirts around the hill, coming up the other side. The descent is initially much steeper and more direct.
Long trousers are not required, water is.
If you have a co-driver not interested in walking then you could meet in the dramatically set Mountanistika, a little further on along the concrete road from Leontaki (see the map).
Places of interest
Boulari. The church of Agios Stratigos- Dimitris Kolokouris holds the key and so needs to be contacted in advance to arrange a viewing (phone 27330 52953).
The walk begins at the top end of Upper Boulari often referred to as Diporo- refer to the map of the village.
Leave you car where the road finished and continue uphill along a wide track for 20m and identify red way marks on your right (the detour to Agios Stratigos is a couple of minutes further up the track). The path immediately drops into the streambed and continues on the other side where it heads steadily up the south bank of the valley.
After 30 mins you’ll pass an open cistern at a point where another gully joins the riverbed indicate you have been following (this is where you will rejoin the path on the return leg). The path for now dips into this gully but continues following the original riverbed, initially zigzagging to create a short cut.
Another 20 mins further on and the path crosses the riverbed (which may be a little overgrown) and continues on the other side. Keep following the blue way marks and don’t be tempted to head off on another path heading up the hillside.
As the buildings of Pepo slowly come into view, a stone wall runs across the path in a partially collapsed state. Hop over it, turn left and follow the way marks up to a house with a balcony and then right to take you down through the village. You will emerge in a wide clear space with a church. The concrete track up to Leontaki begins here and runs behind the church. It’s a gentle 30 mins up to Leontaki.
If you take the first entrance into the village, turn left down an ally (passing one of the few houses still inhabited) to bring you into an open area. Equally, the second entrance brings you directly to this point. From here you will see the large church that is the next landmark though you may want to have a brief exploration of the village.
Follow the track past the church and where it becomes concrete take the walled path dropping away to your right. You will soon pass another smaller church as the path begins to zig zag down into the gully below.
After 20 mins you’ll emerge on the path that brought you up- turn left to get back to the car.
