Kastro, stone village in the middle of Thassos, Greece

Kastro, stone village in the middle of Thassos, Greece

Hello travelers

I had an adventurous weekend in Romania, now I'm already back home, so, I started writing a new travel blog, this time we're going to Thassos island in Greece.

The vacation here on the island came so quickly without having anything scheduled weeks or months in advance, even we didn't know for sure if we would be able to go so we decided quite late.

We were very lucky to have found amazing accommodation at a very good price, but about the accommodation and the journey I will write about in another blog.

So today come with me to visit one of the oldest or even the oldest village on the island of Thassos(Greece), Kastro.

To the island we came with our own car, so, we explored the island very easily.

We had accommodation in Limenaria a beautiful town about which I will write a separate blog.

From Limenaria to the mountain village of Kastro is 11 km, a distance you can cover in 20 minutes.

You have to know that the whole road is paved and it is very good, but the last part is a bit more difficult to do because the road climbs up the mountain up to 450 meters high, here you have to be more careful.

The village has narrow streets (from what I read on the internet) so we left the car at the entrance to the village (there is no parking lot specially designed for tourists) to avoid crowding the village streets.

The village you can visit it when you want, I had read that here in the village there is only one tavern where they serve a specialty, yogurt with honey and nuts, I really wanted to try it.

Since the first steps through the village I was speechless, all the houses here are made of stone including their roofs, honestly at first glance it seems like a ghost village, I didn't see any locals, I only saw the tourists who were as amazed as I was.

Before we go further I leave below some information that I found on the internet.

Kastro is a medieval village, probably the oldest in Thassos. It is located in the center of the island, at an altitude of 450m above sea level. It is located at 16km of Limenaria (northeast). The road to the village is good, because it was paved a few years ago, so you can get to Kastro very easily and quickly. If you are an adventurer, you can walk to Kastro, starting from Limenaria or Theologos. It'll take a few hours of walking.
This village is called the ruins of an ancient fortress (castro castro- fortress*). The fortress and castle date back to the 15th century and belonged to the Gatilusi dynasty in Genoava (Italy).
Kastro had a period of flowering in the 19th century. But after that, a part of the population moved closer to the coast to cultivate olive orchards. Others found work in the “Metalija” mine in Limenaria, which was opened around 1800 by Germany’s “Spiedel” company. Some went abroad in search of easier earnings, and the rest sought work in coastal villages and so Kastro ran out of its inhabitants.
In the center of the village there is a church, dating from 1804. The Sultan gave permission for its construction, but provided she was completed within 40 days. All the locals got involved in its construction and were able to build it in the set time. The church is dedicated to St. Athanasius, which is celebrated on January 18. Two weeks around this holiday are the only days of the year when the village comes to life again. In those days, sometimes under the snow, the village gets another complete appearance. The narrow streets are full of people, there is music and laughter.
In recent years, old houses are renovated, being mostly made of stone, so the village has preserved its traditional appearance. There are even new houses built, all of which are used as holiday homes.

The village isn't big so it won't take you very long to explore it, but the views are marvelous.

We even discovered an old church here, and I am speechless about the view.

Finally we reached the only tavern in this village (unfortunately they were out of yogurt with honey and nuts), and yes it seems that the village has only a few inhabitants the rest of the houses are inhabited occasionally or are used by those who have animals (goats) or those who produce honey bees.

The tavern is in old style (I couldn't call it rustic), here I saw a billboard where tourists have pasted money specific to their country (I found many from Romania), I didn't eat anything here (because I wasn't hungry) instead I bought black pine honey from a local producer, about the taste of honey the same no words (sorry I bought only two jars).

My dears, our adventure in the village of Kastro (Thassos-Greece) has come to an end, I hope you enjoyed it and maybe I inspired you to include it in your list of sights to visit.

THE END!

If you liked what you saw and read here please don't forget to give a LiKe, Follow, reBlog or a Comment, for all this I thank you, and until the next post I say goodbye.

P.S. The attached picture you have just seen are taken by me with my mobile phone(Samsung Galaxy S21), and the text is also designed by me.

Yours @triplug😉