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I’ve been visiting the Greek Islands for as long as I can remember, adding one or two to my list each year. But one in particular is always worth a repeat visit. That island is Tinos, the hidden gem of the Aegean Sea’s Cycladic Islands.
While Mykonos and Santorini hog the attention, Tinos slips quietly under the radar. Like other islands of the Cyclades, it has the trademark rocky terrain and stark white buildings dotting the landscape. Still, it has an irresistible charm that lies in its unique villages and the intricate network of trails that connect them.
Historical Pathways: The Tinos Trails
Tinos was inhabited for centuries before automobiles arrived, and with villages spread out across the island, people had to somehow get around. These ancient trails are precisely how they accomplished that — and it was no small feat considering the island’s mountainous terrain.
With the introduction of cars, these trails were eventually forgotten. But in recent years, they have been painstakingly uncovered and preserved, bringing life back to the ancient thoroughfares.
Exploring the Tinos Trails
Now known as the Tinos Trails, these twelve pathways covering more than 90 miles are well-mapped, well-marked, and an excellent way to explore the island and discover its past. They range from simple strolls to strenuous hikes and take you up mountains and through valleys, through both living and abandoned villages, and past geological rock formations and beautiful examples of the island’s unique architecture.
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On a recent trip to the island, I got to experience some of these trails for myself, heading into the hills with a cousin who lives on the island and knows them like the back of his hand. Even without my experienced guide, I would have had no fear of getting lost.
The trails are clearly marked with small red and white striped symbols that are inconspicuously placed on telephone poles, corners of buildings, and painted onto stone walls so they aren’t obtrusive to the landscape but ensure you won’t lose your way.
Monastiria: The Haunting Abandoned Village
One of the most interesting spots along the Tinos Trails is the abandoned village of Monastiria, which translates to ‘monasteries’ and is aptly named for the church that sits above the village. Here the remains of a tiny but once-thriving community create a hauntingly beautiful scene.
The village began its gradual decline in the 1960s as residents moved away for better opportunities and the last home was abandoned in the mid-1970s. This is a problem that affects many countries around the world and is especially evident in the Greek islands, where there are few opportunities for young people to build a life.
Today what remains of Monastiria lies in ruins. Rays of sunlight shine through the crumbling stone walls of buildings that once teemed with life and spiderwebs and vegetation now compete for ownership of the remains.
While you can’t enter any of the structures — they are clearly unsafe due to their advanced decay, the trail winds through the small maze of building. In a world of constant chatter, the silence of the village was a welcome break and the sounds of the occasional birdsong and our own soft footsteps were the only soundtrack to our journey.
It didn’t take long to explore Monastiria, but I found myself taking my time to relish the solitude. We both wandered in silence, sensing the ghosts of the past and imagining what it must have been like when the village was still teeming with life.
Read More: Island Time: Why You Should Visit These Top Greek Islands
Practical Tips for Visiting Monastiria
The easiest way to visit is by car, following the sign for Monastiria just past the village of Krokos. Park along the main road where a small gate opens on a series of steps that lead down to the tiny church of St. Joseph. Monastiria, or rather what remains of it, sits on the hillside just below the church.
Arnados: A Village at Risk
While the abandoned village offered a surreal peacefulness that one seldom encounters today, other villages along the trail provided a different experience, like Arnados. This village is much bigger than Monastiria and still well-maintained by its residents, but it is at risk of slowly fading into history in its own way.
The streets of Arnados weave through a maze of traditional homes. While following the marked trails, we explored alleyways and stairwells, but we came across very few people during our visit. This brought home the crisis Greece’s villages and islands faced, with very few young people left in the villages to carry on with the traditional way of life.
The Charm of Arnados
The quietude allowed us to explore the nooks and crannies and made it that much more of a treat to encounter others as we wandered. Eventually, we arrived at a beautiful plateia, or town square, that sat next to a gorgeous Greek Orthodox church overlooking the island and the Aegean in the distance.
It was here we came across an open kafenío, or coffee shop, where we stopped for some morning caffeine and watched as the owners rolled out homemade filo dough for the spinach pies that would be on the menu later in the day. Although following the marked trails through the village was a wonderful way to explore Arnados, it was this authentic snapshot of everyday life that truly resonated.
While the villages we hiked through were each intriguing in their own way, there is much more to Tinos’s unique personality. It has a thriving culinary scene fueled by creative chefs who either grew up on Tinos or, like so many who live there, visited and never left. It is home to some of the most interesting festivals in Greece and one of the country’s most significant religious destinations.
The Church of the Panagía Evangelistria
The island’s main attraction is the magnificent Church of the Panagía Evangelistria, also known as the Holy Lady of Tinos or the Church of Miracles. This beautiful orthodox church stands at the top of a hill overlooking the port town of Hora and attracts believers who come seeking a miracle.
While most visitors arrive on foot or by car, true pilgrims crawl there. Devotees slowly make their way up the hill on their hands and knees along the red carpet that lines the street from the port all the way up the steps to the entrance of the church.
The church itself houses an incredibly significant religious artifact, the icon of the Holy Virgin. The icon was discovered buried in a field in 1823 by a nun who claimed the Virgin Mary came to her in a dream, instructing her where to find it. Today, the church and its miraculous icon are celebrated with a large festival each August.
If You Go:
Unlike many Greek Islands, Tinos is a year-round destination thanks to its religious significance. Spring and fall are the best times to visit for hiking as the weather is the most moderate. However, the island is well-known for its population of poisonous vipers, so always hike with caution and a partner.
Tinos sits in a wind corridor and experiences strong winds year-round. It gets extremely cold during the winter and cool breezes help ease the heat of summer, especially at night. Be sure to pack a light jacket during the summer and a heavy coat during the winter.
For a quick caffeine pick-me-up or a late-night drink, head to Kyriakatiko in the port town of Hora where you can get coffee, drinks and light snacks from morning till night. If you are looking for an incredible meal you’ll want to write home about, head up the stairs from Kyriakatiko to Koutouki tis Elenis where you’ll find home-cooked food dishes unique to Tinos made from local ingredients.
Tinos doesn’t have an airport, but it’s easy to reach by ferry from Athens in five hours or less. Boats sail to the island at least once daily all year long from Athens with several ships per day scheduled during the summer. It’s important to note that the ships can’t sail in high winds, so scheduled ferries are occasionally canceled.
Pro Tip: Simplify your travel planning with Ferryhopper. It streamlines ferry searches and logistics, and the map feature lets you easily visualize connections between ports.
There are plenty of hotels across the island, but you’ll get an authentic island experience with a vacation rental. A personal favorite is Tinos Sky View Villa, which sits on the mountainside near the village of Arnados and overlooks the Aegean. Not only does this property give stunning views of the island, the Aegean, and several islands like Mykonos in the distance, but one of the island’s marked hiking trails passes right behind the property.
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Author Bio: Eugenia Lazaris is a freelance journalist and editor based in Southern California. Since she began writing professionally in 2017, she has covered stories on every continent but especially loves writing about Greece and the Middle East, two places she has spent a great deal of time throughout her life. In addition, to Go World Travel Magazine, her work has appeared in Global Travel Magazine, WhereverFamily.com, TrazeeTravel.com, TravelAge West, and Nea Proini – The New Day. A graduate of the University of La Verne, Lazaris is a member of NATJA, SATW and IFWTWA and serves as an annual judge for the IPNE Book Awards.
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