The following are some of the ways to get in touch with each other:The riverside was packed. Cafes were bursting with families. The marching band strode onto the bridge with their metal helmets that sparkled in the sunlight. Priests with bushy hair and kalimavkion cylindrical hats chanted age-old chants. Men sounded shotguns to terrify the air. Easter Monday at Lefkimmi.
This wasn’t something we had planned. It was just the right moment at the right place. Lefkimmi, the capital of southern Corfu is a bustling town that has not been affected by tourism. There are Venetian-style houses – variously neat, tatty and decrepit – but no “attractions” to speak of. Just Corfiots doing Corfiot things: chewing the fat in their finest for this religious celebration – Greek Orthodox Easter, which falls on 12 April in 2026 – plus zipping about on scooters, drinking coffee, buying baklava and ice-creams.
I hoped that this trip to Corfu (an island with a population of 100,000) would be the right place at the right time. In 2025, it is expected that Corfu will have a visitor count of around 4 million. It was a return with pleasant memories. In 1986, I came here for my first foreign vacation. This was my first ever foreign holiday.
This was 40-years ago. Corfu – the green queen of the Ionian Sea, Gerald Durrell’s “garden of the gods” – was already popular. The infrastructure is struggling to cope with summer crowds, as roads and water supplies are strained. How about going off-piste and in the off-season? My husband and myself chose to travel in spring as winter is difficult, with many places being closed. Corfu trail.
We set off on the 180km (110 miles) long route from Kavos, which runs the entire length of the island. It wriggles along the rugged west coast with its less developed areas, and then veers into the central hills, wide Ropa Valley, before traversing the mountainous north. If you want to discover Corfu’s less-trodden parts, walking is your best option. You can travel on (limited) buses and hire cars.
We covered between 8 and 20 miles a day, though there’s no need to do all that – most walk it much more slowly. But, with our luggage being transported ahead each night to an array of simple pensions, family tavernas and beach hotels, our shoulders were light, so we were keen to roam as much as we could, following the yellow and black signs, arrows daubed on rocks and the GPS files on our phones – the route was largely well marked.
Every day, there were wonders to discover: wizened Mitéra, a 1,500-year-old olive tree near Prasoudi beach; a profusion of wildflowers, in all hues – rosy garlic, hot-purple rock roses, punchy yellow sage; a magical ancient footway between Makrata and Ano Garouna that had fallen out of use until the Corfu trail was blazed 25 years ago. The ancient path led through a cypress pierced hillside, before plunging down into forgotten, dark olive groves. What appeared to be the ruins of an abandoned city was actually natural rock covered in moss.
After a few more hours, we reached Sinarades. We found ourselves at the foot of a stone staircase leading to the city. Folklore Museum. It couldn’t be open could it? But yes, Makis beckoned us into this 19th-century farmhouse (entrance a modest €3), empty of visitors but full of the stuff of Corfiot village life: fine costumes, farming paraphernalia, fig cutters, cobblers’ tools.
These glimpses of Corfu’s past, always inland, were fascinating. We drank ginger ale in Sokraki village, the northernmost mountain village, when the rains finally came. Emily’s cafeThe traditional recipe uses only water, ginger, lemon juice and sugar. We then waded our way through the narrow streets until we reached the Lithari Olive Oil MuseumThe old family presses have been restored.
On the next day, we visited Old PerithiaA 14th-century village nestled under Mount Pantokrator – the island’s highest peak – is a must see. Like many similar outposts, Perithia was abandoned in the 1960s; unlike many, it has been revived, and is now a lively, living cluster of homes, tavernas, honey shops and a characterful B&B. The day was hot, so we lounged on the terrace of O Foros Enjoyed a fresh salad and homemade pie at the cafe tsigareli It is possible to descend the trail via an old path, which was only rediscovered when the Corfu route was created.
There were few swimmers despite the dazzling clarity and 16C (60F) temperature. Such was the case at Myrtiotissa, halfway up the west coast – the spot where Odysseus allegedly washed ashore, and widely known as a nudist beach. This cliff-backed sliver is reached by a steep, narrow track. It’s a popular summer destination for Instagrammers. When we walked back down the road, it was empty enough to let us throw off our clothes and inhibitions, and play in the waves like Nereids.
Erimitis is the “hermit” Peninsula in the north-east of the island. It used to be an observation post for the navy, which kept an eye on Albania about 2 miles away. Erimitis, therefore, escaped tourism development and is the last bastion of Corfiot natural beauty: no villas or olive trees, only a scrubby of oaks and myrtles, strawberry and brackish-water lagoons with butterflies, birds and herbs, wild orchids and rare monks seals offshore.
But it is under threat. In 2012 the government sold foreign investors the rights to develop an area of Erimitis. Organisations like Save Erimitis You can also read about the Ionian Environment Foundation We are fighting to preserve it.
We left the Corfu Trail for the day and picked up a path linking Agios Stephanos, the upmarket fishing port of Kassiopi via Erimitis’s edges. walk Approximately 5.5 miles. There was an immediate difference in the air; there was no human touch and the water looked even clearer. We detoured along a path that led to a bank where a rope dangled from the bank down to a forest-backed sandy beach. It seemed pointless to put on swimwear when no one was around, so we went skinny dipping again. Now accustomed to this temperature and warmed up by the smugness that came with being here alone, right now. Right time, right place.
The trip was sponsored by Walks WorldwideWhat is the name of this person? 15-day, self-guided Corfu Trail Costs of £1,129 (shorter itineraries available)Included in the price is the entire route and all nights. Kalami, near Erimitis; thecorfutrail.com
