Hiking in Santorini is definitely one of those experiences I've always dreamt about! The landscape is so unusual with the caldera high cliff and the crescent shape of the island. If you like hiking with views of rugged coastlines and village to village ( a few of my favorite things) you will love hiking in Santorini! Every one thinks of the classic hike from Fira to Oia (which is beautiful), but did you know, in addition to this, you can also hike to Skaros Rock? Skaros Rock is the large rock formation located in Imerovigli. This hike offers a shorter (not necessarily easier) than the classic Oia trek! What I loved about this hike was the ability to see both sides of the island, North and South as well as the Caldera. If you like a challenge ( or earning your moussaka and other delicious treats), this hike is for you!

There used to be a castle located on the rock called, ‘Epano Kastro', which means "upper castle". It was the primary place of Christian gathering in Santorini until the early 1800s when a castle was destroyed by an earthquake!

To begin

Begin at the Grace Santorini Hotel in Imerovigli and go past the Church of Agios Georgics (little church, you'll probably see lots of pictures being taken on top of the roof if it's later in the day) and you'll see the path that leads towards Skaros. There's not really good signage, but it's pretty easy to figure out!

Option 1

The path that leads left goes down the mountain. You will climb down for awhile, but just enjoy and get ready for a little surprise at the bottom!

Another church (so maybe not a surprise in Santorini)! We when came to this view, I couldn't stop taking pictures!

Rob was very color coordinated with all the blue hues!

Option 2

The path that goes straight up to the top, is much more intense obviously. We read it was sketchy so we opted not to do this one, mainly because we were towards the end of our trip and we were pretty exhausted!

If you want a really active day you could even include this in your hike from Fira to Oia, stop off and do this hike.

The hike takes about an hour and has decent elevation gain. I highly recommend this hike for great views and a fun alternative to the classic hike to Oia!