Paros is the geometric centre of the Cycladic archipelago and a favorite tourist destination because of its many sandy beaches and lace-like coastline. However, it’s only by exploring well off the beaten track that you get a sense of its commanding location and special ambiance. To be on a path high on the flanks of the island’s central massif is like looking down from the ‘gods’ of an opera house to an elaborate stage set, a layered landscape of accentuated light and shade, form and colour.
On the north-west coast, a landscape of ravaged granite plunges to inaccessible shores, but the eye soars over the ocean to the island figures of Tinos and Mykonos, and an ancient sanctuary is orientated towards the sacred island of Delos.
The eastern flanks of the central massif overlook a band of the sea with the splendid mountains of Naxos filling the horizon. Outcrops of weathered granite (which served as handy lookouts and defensive positions), curvaceous bays, and coastal plains on the north coast appealed to Neolithic and Bronze Age settlers 3,000 and more years ago.
Inland are hidden valleys, many with isolated fort-like monasteries (an island specialty), and traditional villages with white-washed cubic houses and neo-classical buildings. Heading south, steep medieval paths, perfectly paved and preserved, traverse the hillsides leading to a sheltered, golden-sanded coastline, with views of island silhouettes in the open sea.
