Planning a hike like Mount Zas can take a lot of research, trust me I did the same before going on this hike. You may have lots of questions about the hike and if you keep reading you will learn everything you need to know before hiking Mount Zas in Naxos Greece.
You are going to learn all about Mount Zas, how long and difficult the hike is, the different trails you can hike, how to get to the trailhead of Mount Zas, what you need to hike Mount Zas, and more.
After reading this blog post you will be all ready to hike the highest peak in the Cyclades.
This post is all about hiking Mount Zas in Naxos Greece.
Ultimate Guide to Hiking Mount Zas
All About Mount Zas
Mount Zas is the highest peak in the Cyclades, a group of islands in Greece. This mountain is located on the Greek island of Naxos. It is around an hour’s drive from Naxos Town and is a popular hike that tourists do.
You can walk to the summit of Mount Zas as an out-and-back trail or do a loop (you will just start and end in slightly different locations). This hike has beautiful views and you will probably be greeted by some goats along your hike!
If you like hiking and you are visiting Naxos Greece this is a great activity to do.
Distance and Difficulty
Time: 2 to 4 hours (depending on how fast you walk) Distance: 7 km Elevation Gain: 500 meters Difficulty Level: Moderate (depending on the person) Mount Zas is a day hike you can complete in around 2 to 4 hours. The total distance is around 7 km with around 500 meters of elevation gain throughout the hike. Depending on your level of fitness the difficulty will be different. As a pretty athletic person, I didn’t find the hike too difficult. I would say it was a moderate hike. The most difficult part of the hike for me was around the top. By the time you get close to the top, you start walking on loose rock so you just have to be careful not to roll your ankle or fall. If you are being careful it shouldn’t be a problem.Hiking Routes
As mentioned before you can either walk to the summit of Mount Zas as an out-and-back hike or you can do a loop.
Out-and-Back Routes
Starting the hike at Aghia Marina makes the walk much easier and shorter. The hike up to the summit from Aghia Marina takes between 1-2 hours and is less steep. Starting at Filoti adds around an hour to your walk up to the summit and the trail up from Filoti is more difficult due to its steepness. Just a warning the trail from Filoti to the summit of Mount Zas is less marked. You walk through some farmland before making it to the marked trail. So don’t be concerned (like I was) when you start walking through more overgrown trails.Loop Route
If you would like to experience both trails up to the summit you can go up one and down the other. You can plan to do that or if you are like us accidentally do that. I would recommend starting at Aghia Marina (since it’s a bit easier) and then you can decide at the top whether you want to go back the same way or take the trail to Filoti. DO NOT do the loop if you drive yourself because you will start and end at different locations which means you won’t end where your car is.How to Get to Mount Zas
The two main ways to get to the trailhead for Mount Zas is to drive or take the bus. If you have a rental car you can either start at Aghia Marina or Filoti or you can take the bus to either starting point.
If you are wanting to drive yourself and looking to rent a car for your stay in Naxos Kayak has good prices for rental cars. The prices range depending on how long you rent the car for but the prices are around $75 CAD per day.
If you are looking for a cheaper option public transit is your best friend. I know public transit can sometimes be a little intimidating, especially in a new country, but the bus systems in Greece are actually really simple. We bought our bus tickets at a ticket counter right across from Naxos Port. To take the bus from Naxos Town to Aghia Marina or Filoti costs around 3 euros each way (around 6 euros in total). When taking the bus from Naxos Town the stop in Filoti is first and then the next stop is Aghia Marina. If you have any questions about the bus ride you can always ask the bus driver or other passengers (most of the people on our bus were doing the same hike up Mount Zas).
What You Should Bring to Hike Mount Zas
Mount Zas isn’t a crazy intense hike which is great for travellers because you don’t need any fancy gear. These are all the things I recommend bringing:
- waterbottle
- snack
- running shoes
- athletic clothes (NO WHITE CLOTHES you will learn why later on;) )
- sunscreen
- hat/sunglasses
- small backpack (to carry everything in)
Funny Story From Hiking Mount Zas
I wanted to end this blog post with a bit of a funny and entertaining story. For my fellow bug haters, this is a bit of a warning before hiking Mount Zas. I am not sure if this is a common thing or if we just went on a bad day but when we got to the top of Mount Zas the top of the mountain was swarmed with flying beetles (they were EVERYWHERE)! I wanted to write about it because I didn’t hear that this was a thing during my research so I was not expecting it. As someone that hates and is pretty terrified of bugs, I was not really having a blast at the top.
To avoid the situation I was in DO NOT WEAR WHITE! Apparently, the bugs are attracted to white and guess what I was wearing…you guessed it WHITE! So more bugs were landing on me because of my white hoodie. If you really hate bugs I recommend you still do the hike just maybe skip walking all the way to the top. The hike is still amazing and you still see great views even if you don’t reach the very top. OR you can do what I did and run up to the top and then run back down just so you can say you made it to the top of the highest peak in the Cyclades.
I hope this guide to hiking Mount Zas was helpful for anyone planning on doing this hike. It really is a great hike with beautiful views (minus the bugs). If you have any questions feel free to comment them or contact me on social media I would be happy to answer them.
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