The route starts from the main road, at the point where the pottery workshops of Armolia are located. We follow the rural road, passing through the plain with olive and mastic trees.
Information
Location: Southern Chios Type: Hiking on mountain footpath.
Degree of Difficulty: Easy Route Length: 1.355 m.
Time: About 30 - 45 min. Drinking water along the way: No
Maximum / Minimum altitude: 235 m / 80 m Altitude Difference: 155 m.
Starting Point: Armolia
The route starts from the main road, at the point where the pottery workshops of Armolia are located. We follow the rural road, passing through the plain with olive and mastic trees.
At the point there is a resting place with wooden benches and tables as well as remains of buildings, modern of the castle, but of unknown utility. The continuation of the course takes place on a path with a steep slope, between pines, oaks, ropes and arbutus.
Continuing the steep ascent, the view includes the plain and the village of Armolia, the Vrettou Monastery and in the background the village of Kalamoti and the beach of Komi.
Closer to the castle, the landscape changes to rocky with low vegetation. The village of Patrika has now been added to our view.
The last steps of the course are made on shaped stairs that end on the east side of the castle, at a point where the collapse of the wall allows us access to the interior. To our right is the largest and most powerful tower of the castle.
Armolia : Armolia is located 20 km southwest of the city of Chios and is the main crossroads for the southern villages. The village has a tradition in the construction and decoration of clay objects. At the entrance of the village there are pottery workshops.The houses in Armolia are small, built of stone, very close to each other, in order to create a single defensive structure in the standards of the settlements of the area.It is worth the visitor to take a walk in the alleys and cobbled streets of the village and to visit the church of Panagia, which is connected with Agios Dimitrios in the village square, where one of the most beautiful Temples is preserved (dating to 1744).
Castle of Apolichni: Large and impressive castle at the top of a hill with an altitude of 220 meters, which is one of the highest altitudes in South Chios. Its location is such that it visually controls the Plains of Kalamoti and Armolia, as well as the sea area of Komi.It was built in 1440 by the Genoese Nicolas Justiniani and has a trapezoidal shape. Its walls are double and it had small defensive towers. Inside there were water tanks and 62 rooms, as well as a church.In our tour of the castle we can see the ruins of the rooms, the remains of the defensive towers with the loopholes, located in the east and west and much of the well-preserved and fairly high south wall. Externally and at a great distance from the south wall, a defensive enclosure with a lower height is maintained, which was obviously built to make it difficult for the enemy to approach, since without this the access to the main walls would be quite easy, due to the relative smoothness of the slope. On the contrary, access from the north is more difficult, due to the steep rock. In the northeast tower there are large arched windows, which, probably in common practice, served as entrances with escalators.
