Peritheia: Old Perithia and trails on Mount Pantokrator

Old Perithia defines Peritheia through its village history and its location on Mount Pantokrator. It is considered Corfu’s oldest village and dates back to the 13th century. At an altitude of 450 metres, it lies on the mountain slopes and is now considered abandoned. This makes the historic village and its mountain setting the main points of interest.

Stone houses and Venetian architecture

Old Perithia comprises around 130 houses, most of which were built in the Venetian architectural style. Both the houses and the cobbled village lanes are made of stone. On a walk around the village, you can take in the streetscape as well as individual buildings. The use of stone throughout the houses and lanes makes the village feel like a cohesive architectural ensemble.

Walking trails and the route to Mount Pantokrator

There are walking trails in Old Perithia. One specific route leads from there along a gravel road to the summit of Mount Pantokrator. The approximately one-hour walk is considered manageable even for beginners. Old Perithia is also listed as a daily stage location on the Corfu Trail. Check the trail conditions before setting out, as they can change. For planning your day, this means you can choose between walks in the village, a summit route with an approximate duration, and a stop on a multi-stage trail.

Corfu as a wider travel destination

Corfu also offers urban and museum highlights of its own. The historic urban fabric of Corfu’s Old Town has been almost entirely preserved; its buildings date from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The Old Town and its two fortresses are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Museum of Asian Art is also located in the Old Town and houses more than 11,000 objects from China, Japan, India, the Himalayas and Central Asia.

The Archaeological Museum of Corfu was built primarily to display the Gorgon Medusa pediment from the great Temple of Artemis. The pediment was created in 585 BC and was excavated in 1911 near the Monastery of Aghioi Theodoroi. Through significant artefacts and documents, the permanent exhibition at the Kapodistrias Museum explores the history of Corfu, Europe and Greece through the life of Greece’s first governor.

A description from 2023 mentions a digital guide to Corfu’s Old Town that offered residents and visitors high-quality audiovisual material about more than 80 sights within the city. Check whether the guide is available before your trip.

The Corfu Trail is 180 kilometres long, passes through several settlements and includes 13 daily stage locations; Benitses is one of them. This island route calls for a different scale of planning than the approximately one-hour walk to the summit of Mount Pantokrator. From Corfu Port, the Museum of Asian Art can be reached by bus route 2 on the Mantouki–Kanoni route. Check the timetable before travelling.

Discover more destinations: Lákka, Petriti, Ano Korakiana, Viros, Mesongi, Potamos, Chalikounas, Magazia.

For the broader travel overview: Corfu.