Day 7 – Naxos: How I Almost Died Hiking Mount Zas

Our alarms went off at 6:30am this morning so we could get ready to Hike Mount Zas (Zeus). Not only is the summit the highest point in the Cycladic Islands (3290 ft), but legend has it that the peak of this mountain is where Zeus was born and the Cave of Zeus (which we would pass on the way) is where he spent his childhood. Needless to say we were both pumped for this hike.

We walked to the Platia (town center) for an early breakfast, since most restaurants are not open this early in Greece. We saw the Bakery lights on and walked in. I got a Vegan Spanakopita (couldn’t risk eating dairy before our 4 hour hike) and Stelios had a regular Spanakopita. Looking back now, we probably should’ve had something heartier with more protein. But like I said, our options were limited this early in the day.

We hopped on our bike and drove 30 minutes back up the mountain to the starting point at Aria Springs. By the time we arrived we had an 8:30 am start. A bit later than we had planned for, but not bad since the sun wasn’t strong yet and the side of the mountain that we started on had a lot of shade.

From the starting point you could see the peak of the mountain – which looked tall but not daunting and I couldn’t wait to climb it. The beginning of the trail is a paved stone walkway and steps – we were off to a good start.

Once the walking stone path ends the true hike begins and you have to climb up a series of rocks to get to the Cave of Zeus.

Travel Tip: There are goats all over this mountain which is awesome, but watch out you don’t step in goat dung!

The cave was REALLY COOL so I was glad we took this route rather that going to the other starting point or we wouldn’t have passed it. We walked a few meters into the cave but the rocks were slippery and the flashlight on our phones wasn’t bright/strong enough for us to see deeper in. If you want to really explore the Cave of Zeus you need a legit flashlight. After snapping some pics and checking out the cave for 10 minutes we started back up the summit trail.

On AllTrails this hike was marked as a moderate hike and the reviews that I read made the hike sound tough but not horrible. Prior to this vacation I was running 4-5x a week and going to Pilates, so I figured I could handle it. Maybe it’s because all we did was eat and drink the past 7 days and I haven’t worked out since we got to Greece, but I felt like I WAS GOING TO DIE. This is NOT a fun leisurely “moderate” hike. This is moderately difficult for a good hiker & extremely difficult for an amateur hiker like me. Stelios said it was the hardest terrain he’s ever experienced on a hike, and the 2nd hardest hike he’s done overall. (Simply because the first hike was 4 days long up the Inca Trail in Peru).

This hike was STRENUOUS in terms of elevation and the fact that you are literally climbing up boulders and rocks, maneuvering on all 4’s at times WAS DIFFICULT. Also you occasionally have to watch out for the prickly thorn bushes that hug some of the boulders. Both Stelios & I got pricked a few times. This continued for the next hour.

I was exhausted, frustrated, and debated quitting at least 3 times and just plopping on a rock while Stelios hiked to the top. We were already SO HIGH up – would the view really be THAT much different at the summit? But then I thought what would be the point of all of this if I didn’t make it to the top?! I persevered and played Break my Soul by Beyoncé in my head for some internal motivation. Eventually I whipped out my phone and turned on one of my pre-downloaded playlists with upbeat music to keep the motivation going and energize me to get to the top (a mix of Griz & Big Gigantic). Stelios was always several meters ahead and thoroughly enjoying the hike but he continued to check in with me. I could tell he felt really bad that I was struggling, but I didn’t want to ruin the experience for him so I told him to just keep going. At least one of us was enjoying the hike and capturing photos of our journey along the way!

We FINALLY got to the top after 1.5 hours (to me it felt like 3) that includes stopping for 15-20 min to explore the cave of Zeus & stopping for water breaks. Once we reached the top I sprawled out and flopped on one of the flatter rocks to catch my breath and reflect on what just happened.

We made it to the summit!! We spent 30-45 mins at the summit, taking in the views, snapping pics, hydrating and recharging.

Now it was time for the trek down. Going down any hike is always more difficult for me than going up. I don’t know why, but I just have better balance going up and feel more inclined to slip or stumble over my own feet when going down, especially on a steep trail. We started back down the mountain and within 10 minutes I told Stelios this was a much easier path than the one we came up. You didn’t have to climb up boulders, it was more of a stone pathway. We realized we were going down the wrong way. Stelios pulled up the map on his phone and we realized the trail we were on lead to a different starting point, far from where our bike was parked. So we traced our steps back a bit and walked across the mountain to the side with the boulders and got back on the trail to the Cave of Zeus. In total it was about a 20 minute detour. Now it was time to climb down all of the rocks and boulders we previously climbed up. On the way down I stepped on a loose boulder, it rolled out from under me, and I almost slipped. It was terrifying. I could’ve gotten seriously injured but Zeus & the Greek gods must’ve been looking out for me today because I caught my balance. I slightly hurt my ankle and Stelios could see that I was in pain, but I shook it off and ignored it and told him let’s keep going – I was in survival mode. I HAD TO GET TO THE BOTTOM AND GET THE FUCK OFF THIS MOUNTAIN. It took us 2 hours to reach the bottom. Stelios had to hold my hand for balance going down a lot of the trickier rocks and boulders. My ankle felt unstable & I couldn’t always reach the next rock on my own#ShortGirlProblems. When we finally reached the bottom I don’t know what came over me but I literally screamed out loud “THANK YOU LORD OUR SAVIOR!” Stelios laughed. I was so relieved to have reached the bottom, because there were moments that I wasn’t sure if I’d make it.

Exhausted and tired – we biked back and got to the Airbnb by 2pm. I showered and passed out for 2 hours. Once I woke up I went on All Trails to leave an honest review of the hike to warn other amateurs like me. The original trail link I had saved was the Mount Zas Moderate trail that actually started from the Agia Marina, but someone had commented that it’s better to start from Aria Springs to pass by the Cave of Zeus which is what we ended up doing. I searched for the Mount Zas trail with the Aria Springs starting point and it was rated Hard by Pro account users on All Trails. No wonder it was so damn difficult! At least that made me feel better – and what an accomplishment! But also lesson learned – hikes can be dangerous and you always need to double check the starting point and the individual trail links.

At this point Stelios and I were HUNGRY. All we had eaten since 6:30am was spanakopita & half a croissant after hiking 6 miles and getting in 16k steps. It was time for a Gyro. Both our Airbnb host & online travel blogs raved about Yasouvlaki being the best gyro in Naxos so that’s where we went. We sat at a table facing the water and ordered 2 Gyros Doner (a mix of beef & lamb, tomato, tzatziki, onion, & fries). It was PERFECT. The meat was much better than the gyro we had in Paros but overall both were VERY tasty. Overall I give Yasouvlaki 5 stars.

We started reflecting on today’s hike, scrolling through the photos that Stelios took along the way. I still couldn’t believe we did a Hard Pro hike & I wondered how much easier the “moderate” trail is compared to the “hard” one we did. I wouldn’t want to find out or do it again either way. Stelios said he really enjoyed himself on the hike & would do it again (naturally, the excellent hiker that he is). To him it was an awesome experience climbing up all the rocks, but he also acknowledged it was VERY hard. I’m happy he enjoyed it as much as he did, because to me that made it worth it, even more so than seeing the view from the top.

After housing our two gyros, we walked back to our Airbnb to relax on the balcony and sip on some bottles of Greek Rosé. We waited for the sun to go down & watch another incredible sunset over the port of Naxos.

We didn’t have any dinner reservations tonight and decided to wing it. At around 9pm we walked to Oniro Wine Restaurant, and got a table on the roof. We ordered some glasses of wine, Naxian Gruyère cheese in Kaitifi (angel hair phyllo dough) and stuffed calamari with feta, tomato, and olives that came with a side of fries. The Naxian cheese was our favorite & dinner was only 31 euro.

We strolled through the back alleys and ended up at the waterfront. We sat down on a comfy couch for 2 at Kitron Café. Kitron is a local liquer and has been produced in Naxos since 1896 from the extract of citrus tree leaves. The distillery today is in the village of Chalki, which we drove through earlier this morning. The Distillery, Kitron Naxos Vallindra offers tours which we didn’t have time to do, but luckily they have a cafe at the Naxos Chora seafront. The lady working the café let us try 3 samples of Kitron – the closest thing I can compare it to is Limoncello. I ordered the Aqua di Naxos (Kitron with mastiha & limoncello) and Stelios got the Kitron Summer cocktail (similar to a Martini). We sipped our cocktails, people watched, and then wrapped up our evening around midnight. Our last full day in Naxos was definitely an adventure to remember.