For many years, Western Parnitha has been one of my favorite hiking destinations close to Athens for its beautiful nature and lack of crowds.
Unfortunately, all changed in the summer of 2023 when Parntiha suffered from yet another monstrous wildfire. For three days, the fire raged uncontrollably through 60.500 acres of pristine forest, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake.
It is disheartening to see the once-green slopes of Western Parntiha, which gave us so much joy in the past, burned to ashes.
But not everything is lost. There are still corners of Western Parnitha where nature has the upper hand and where it is easy to forget how close to the city we really are.
The area of the Goura Spring is one of them!
How to get to the beginning of the trail from Athens
To get to the beginning of this trail at Fyli Spring, you’ll need a car. It took us about 50 minutes to get to the trailhead from the center of Athens.
We drove to Fyli in northwestern Attica, passed through the village, and continued toward Moni Kliston. We passed the monastery and continued uphill towards the Fortress of Fyli.
After about 15 minutes of an uphill drive, we reached another crossroad and turned right. After about 500 meters, we arrived at the Fyli Spring and parked our car in a small parking lot behind an abandoned tavern. You can find the driving directions on Google Maps HERE.
Maps, signposting & difficulty
At around 15 kilometers in length and 500 meters of elevation gain, this hike was only moderately difficult. We mostly followed a mix of forest roads and well-defined paths marked quite well.
The only exception was a short section of the trail right before the Spring of Goura, where the markings disappeared, and we were left with small stone cairns, a few strips of plastic tied to the branches, and a hardly visible path.
We had to cross a few streams along the way, too, a common occurrence at Western Parnitha during early spring. It didn’t cause us any trouble, though, it only made this hike all the more fun.
The Anavasi Map of Mount Parnitha covers the area of Goura Spring. We also followed a Wikiloc recording, which proved useful, especially during the confusing section before the Goura Spring.
We visited the area before without Wikiloc and got lost which led to some unnecessary (and a bit scary) downclimbing of the steep, rocky slopes.
From Fyli Spring to Bikeza and Goura Spring
We started our hike at Fyli Spring, a slightly strange place with an abandoned tavern and stone-built recreational area. From here, we followed an asphalt road uphill until we spotted a path branching off to the left. It was marked by a sign pointing towards Bikeza, Karamanli Summit, and Profits Ilias.
At first, the path was quite steep, and we gained about 150 meters of elevation in the first kilometer of our hike. But later, the terrain flattened, and for the next 4 kilometers, we enjoyed easy hiking across meadows, pastures, and small groves.
This section of the hike was marked quite well, with red squares pinned to the trees. The trail was easy to follow, and we spent most of our time enjoying the views, spotting animal tracks, and taking uncountable pictures of colorful wildflowers.
After about two and a half kilometers, we arrived at the Bikeza Spring, a lovely spot shaded by an impressive old plane tree. We passed Bikeza, and after another kilometer or so, we arrived at a crossroads of multiple dirt roads.
We lost the red signs here, passed through an abandoned farm building, and joined another dirt road running towards Borsi. We followed the road for about one kilometer until we reached another crossroad.
From here, things got a little bit more tricky, and without the Wikiloc recording, we would probably get lost. The dirt tracks turned into a faint path hidden among low shrubs, marked only by small cairns and a few plastic stripes tied to the trees.
Soon, the trail reached the edge of the valley of Goura, and we started our descent to the riverbed. At this point, the path became very steep and rocky, requiring sure footing and a lot of caution.
Once at the riverbed, we crossed the stream and continued up the other side until we met another trail marked by purple triangles. We turned right onto the trail and, after about 200 meters, arrived at the Spring of Goura.
The Spring of Goura is a magical place and one of my favorites on Mount Parnitha. It seems to have water all year round, which is unusual in this part of Greece.
But in early spring, the current was particularly strong, and it was amazing to watch the crystal clear water rushing out of the spring and across the grassy slopes down to the riverbed.
We enjoyed a short lunch break here, admiring the old, gnarly, moss-covered plane trees surrounding the spring and listening to nothing but the sounds of nature.
From the Spring of Goura to Agia Paraskevi and back
From the Spring of Goura, we continued along the trail marked by purple triangles towards Agia Paraskevi church. The trail runs horizontally on the side of the valley, high above the river bed.
It looked easy from a distance, but in reality, it had many ups and downs and some very muddy passages created by the many small streams running across the slopes.
After about one and a half kilometers, we reached a crossroad of paths, one of them descending to Poros and the second running horizontally towards Roumani Spring and Agia Paraskevi.
We followed the second path and soon caught the first glimpses of the small white church in the distance.
Before reaching the church, we had to make another steep descent to a riverbed, which for me ended in an embarrassing tumble and hands full of scratches and painful thorns. Be cautious here!
Agia Paraskevi is just a simple small white chapel with little interest. That being said, its location in the middle of the still unspoiled nature of Western Parnitha, far away from civilization, makes it utterly charming.
After a short break at Agia Paraskevi, we left the church (and the purple triangle signs) and followed a dirt track running downhill. After about 500 meters, we reached a dirt road and turned right.
We walked along the road for a bit until we encountered a sign pointing to the left towards Apostoli, Pans Cave, and Kiafa Marista. We left the road here and joined a rocky trail marked by yellow signs descending to the valley.
At this point, the forest became thicker and wilder, with moss-covered tree logs blocking the way and the air filled with earthy smells. At the bottom of the valley, in the middle of this woody wonderland, we met the stream of Goura for one last time.
We had to be a bit more creative this time to cross the stream safely (and dry) as the riverbed was wider and deeper at this point. But after some hesitation, we managed to get to the other side and started our last ascent of the day towards the saddle at Kiafa Marista.
Arriving at Kiafa Marista was the saddest moment of our hike. The forest fire of 2023 reached all the way up here, turning the once lovely forest charred and the rugged cliffs of Arma barren and devastated. However, we spotted some colorful wildflowers and bright green twigs poking through the ashy soil, giving us hope that one day the forest will be restored.
Continuing along the trail, which was still marked by yellow signs, we soon returned to the unspoiled pine forest surrounding the Fyli Spring. Finally, after about one and a half kilometers we arrived at a small white church also called Agia Paraskevi and the Fyli Springs.
MORE FROM Mount PARNITHA:
- LIMIKO TOWER HIKE: PALIOCHORI, DIASELO PANOS, LAKKA ZIRELI, LIMIKO, MAVROREMA, DRASIZA
- RAINY HIKE TO THE STREAM OF GOURA AT WESTERN PARNITHA
- FYLI FORTRESS HIKE AT WESTERN PARNITHA
- AGIOS GEORGIOS KERAMIDIOU HIKE AT MOUNT PARNITHA
- MOUNT PARNITHA LOOP: MPAFI SHELTER, MOLA, SKIPIZA
- AVLONA TO AGIA MARINA HIKE AT MOUNT PARNITHA
- THE PASTURES AND MEADOWS OF MOUNT PARNIYHA: MOLA, LIMIKO, SALONIKI
- WESTERN PARNITHA HIKE: FYLI SPRING, BIKEZA, GOURA SPRING & AGIA PARASKEVI CHURCH
- FLAMBOURI REFUGE HIKE AT MOUNT PARNITHA
- KATSIMIDI & XEROVOUNI HIKE
- WINTER HIKING AT MOUNT PARNITHA IN PICTURES
- HIKING AT THE TATOI ROYAL ESTATE
- MPAFI REFUGE HIKE
- PAN’S CAVE HIKE AT MOUNT PARNITHA
