Milies (train station) – Vizitsa

milies

Distance: 1,5 km
Duration: 30΄
Altitude: 290 m. (Miles Station) -485 m. (Vizitsa)
Marking: red signs
Drinking water on the route: yes

This route is a beautiful uphill walk of half an hour (one hour return) on a path-calderimi that leads us from the station of Miles to Vizitsa. It can even serve as a link to create two circular routes: The first one, which is the longest (Milies-Vyzitsa-Kala Nera-Milies, about 3.5 hours) descends from Vyzitsa to Kala Nera and returns to Milies following the cobbled road. The second (Milies-Vyzitsa-Vyzitsa-Station Argyraika-Milies, about 2.5 hours) also goes down from Vyzitsa down the cobbled road to Kala Nera and, reaching the train tracks at Argyraika, returns to the station following the tracks.

From the railway station of Miles, walking on the tracks in the direction of Volos, we immediately cross a stream by a bridge and, eighty metres later, we find the path that climbs uphill on our right. Soon we have a junction, where the right branch descends downhill, passing the stream and ends at the entrance of the station as a paved road. So our route could have alternatively started from there. We continue climbing uphill on a path with cobbled elements, which above becomes a nice cobbled path. On our left we have the great gully of Mali. We can see the white chapel of the Exaltation of Timios Stavros and, if we look carefully, we can see below it, built in a recess of the steep rock on the cliff, the small chapel of Taxiarches.

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Further up the cobbled road becomes a path for a few meters and exits to the asphalt road that leads to Argyraika. We cross it and continue on the other side on a narrow dirt road. On our right we have a church and a cemetery. After walking for five minutes on the road, we see on the right the continuation of the cobbled road that climbs sharply, passes a fountain and a church and soon ends up on the asphalt of Vizitsa, next to the café Pai Weather, a hundred meters below the parking lot at the bus turn.
In order to continue now on the circular route I mentioned before, we go up the asphalt road, pass the parking lot and we have on our left the central church of Zoodochos Pigi. In front of the church, the cobbled road descends towards Kala Nera. At the first junction go left and then right. Below, the cobbled street stops. At this point in 1994 there was an extensive landslide of the slope that carried away stones and soil. Following the red signs, we go a few metres left and then go downhill to the right on a dirt road that eventually leads us back to the cobbled road. We cross the stream by a concrete bridge in a very beautiful spot, where the water in spring forms a waterfall. The cobbled road becomes a narrow dirt road, which exits to the asphalt road to Argyraika. We follow it uphill, pass by the chapel of Timios Stavros and find on the right bank steps that bring us to the cobbled path, which here is half blocked by vegetation and, until it is cleared, we have to walk alongside it for a while, on a parallel path. Leaving a water tank on our right, we cross dirt roads and continue on the cobbled road, which descends between olive groves and houses of the settlement Argyraika and reaches the train tracks, passing over them with an arched bridge.
If we continue downhill on the cobbled road, we will reach the main asphalt road in Kala Nera, where a little to the left we will find the Tsitsileianio hospital and the starting point of the Kala Nera-Miles route to return from there. If we now walk along the tracks to the left (east), we will arrive in about forty-five minutes at the Miles station, passing by the famous iron bridge called De Chirico’s, which was actually built by the German engineer Schneider.

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However, on reaching the bridge, it is worth visiting the chapel of Taxiarches on the rock. For this purpose we follow the narrow path on our left. At two intersections we go left uphill and climb steps on the rock built with dry stone. A narrow corridor in a recess in the rock -it is best to avoid this route for those who are afraid of heights- leads us in five minutes to the chapel, which stands calm and silent on the edge of the steep cliff, together with the birds, waiting to hear the whistle of the train that passes below.

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