Eglouvi - Psili Rachi

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Features Spring · Views · Wildflowers

Eglouvi, the most mountainous village on the island of Lefkada is located at an altitude of about 730m. Stone houses, arched gates, narrow cobblestone streets and an old plane tree in the square compose a traditional setting. The people of Eglouvi, smiling and proud, day laborers and people of the struggle, welcome you in the cafes and the picturesque taverns of the square. Their main occupation is the cultivation of the famous lentil of Eglouvi and the viticulture on the plateau.

The running route starts from the church of Agios Dimitrios, Georgios and Charalambos, located 20 meters after the main square of the village. There, there is a yellow plate with information about the specific path (direction, km, hours). Right on the downhill, cobblestone path the runner begins his/her course. The signs accompany him/her in the village.

At the bottom of the village there is a fork with the path A5, where the running chooses the right path. Moving on an asphalt road after 10 m., s/he turns left and follows the arrows. After an uphill course of 200m. the runner reaches a fork with a dirt road, on which s/he will see a sign leading him/her to the left. Running on the dirt road, the top of the Upper Tower at 1120m. with the distinctive radar is visible. But this is not the end of the path.

Passing through a cypress forest and having a torrent and the closed monastery of Agios Nikolaos on his/her left, the runner begins to climb a narrow, serpentine and quite uphill path. Plates and signs indicate the path to the top. Higher up the path embraces a spring, but there is no drinking water, as it is transported to the village of Eglouvi by a network of pipes.

Always on an uphill course, the runner will gaze at Eglouvi and the whole Plateau, Skaros and in the background the villages and the city of Lefkada. His/her course will become smoother when s/he reaches a flat level, just below the top of the "Upper Tower". Following the dirt road, between fields where lentils are grown, a plate leads him/her to the left on top.

Afterwards, there is a climb on a sloping path below the peak "Apano Pyrgos", which ends at the asphalt road, where the view to southern Lefkada, Kefalonia and Ithaca is unique. Passing opposite and with a right course (there is a plate) the runner moves on a path again for the final ascent to the top "Psili Rachi", 1130m., where s/he arrives after about 10 minutes.