Mount Pantokrator Drive
This Mount Pantokrator drive takes you to the top of Corfu’s highest mountain with wonderful views to Albania, mainland Greece, and around Corfu.
The View from Mount Pantokrator
At 906m (2,972 ft), Mount Pantokrátor is Corfu’s highest mountain. This drive to the summit takes you along a winding but surprisingly good mountain road, through an ever-changing landscape and a handful of lovely old villages. At the top you’ll be rewarded with stunning views over the coastline in all directions, and a beautiful monastery to explore.
NOTE: Directions were correct at the time we did the drive but roads and signs can change.
Mount Pantokrator Drive
We start and end this drive at Nissaki, about 20 km (12.4 miles) north of Corfu Town on the east coast. It should take about 2.5 hours, and covers a total of 66 km (41 miles).
Leave Nissáki on the main coast road, heading south. After about 4 km (2.5 miles), take the right turn to Spartílas. This narrow, one-lane road passes through olive groves and stone-walled terraces, dotted with ruined buildings and wildflowers. At the stop sign, it joins the road coming up from Pyrgí. Turn right onto this road.
Spartilas
As you climb uphill, there are fine views back over Ípsos Bay. Five kilometers (3.1 miles) of sharp switchbacks bring you to Spartílas. The town is fairly large, with pretty homes and gardens surrounded by olive trees and wildflowers. The road narrows through the town centre, where it is lined with quaint old buildings. Here there is a picturesque pink bell tower with a red dome, the church and town hall. It’s worth a stop to walk back for a closer look.
Leave Spartílas passing more olive groves and beehives making mountain honey. After 1 km (0.6 miles), take the right turn towards Petália, also signposted to Pantokrátor. Now olive and cypress give way to lower growing shrubs and sage and other wild herbs along the roadside, and bright yellow gorse in spring.
After 6 km (3.7 miles) you reach the small village of Strinílas, with a shady taverna at its centre. Outside of town, where the road forks before reaching Petália, bear right to Pantokrátor.
Mount Pantokrator
The View from Mount Pantokrator
From here it’s another 5 km (3.1 miles) to the summit. Soon the bald crown of Pantokrátor comes into view, topped by the plain façade of the monastery and unsightly broadcasting masts. As you near the top, park on the roadside.
Monastery of Ipsilos Pantokrátor
The Monastery of Ipsilos Pantokrátor is lovely inside, with a silver iconostasis and beautiful frescoes on the arched ceiling. But it has to compete with the marvellous views across the water to Albania and mainland Greece, and views all around Corfu. On a clear day you can even see the islands of Páxos and Antípaxos further south.
Return back down the mountain. At the fork, turn right into Petália. As you leave the village there are more views of Albania, looking northeast over the Bay of Apraos.
As the road descends towards the coast, the hillsides become more lush and are dotted with trees. Pass through the hamlet of Trimódi, where old stone houses cling to the hillside. Two kilometres (1.2 miles) urther on is the pretty village of Láfki.
To Acharavi
The coastal resort of Acharávi is signposted from the village on the road out of town. After the village of Ágios Martínos, 2 km (1.2 miles) ahead, you find yourself back in the olive groves and you can smell the sea. Follow the signs for Acharávi, which is 3 km (1.9 miles) away. Here you reach the main coast road. Turn right to return to Nissáki, 18 km (11.2 miles) away.
Print This Drive
If you want a print-friendly PDF of this drive to take with you in the car then click here.
Where to Stay on Corfu
Other Corfu pages
This is the Greece Travel Secrets selection of where to eat in northern Corfu, from classy restaurants and traditional tavernas to beachside fish tavernas.
This guide to southern Corfu’s beaches and villages includes busy resorts, quiet beach, hill villages and the southernmost tip of Corfu at Cape Asprókavos.
The Corfu Climate page describes the hours of sun, the rain, the winds, to help you plan the best time to visit this Ionian island.
Donna Dailey of Greece Travel Secrets visits Albania by boat from Corfu Town, staying overnight and seeing archaeological sites with Sipa Tours.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in north-west and central Corfu including luxury mansions, inexpensive rooms, and resort hotels.
The best things to do on Corfu include visiting Palaiokastritsa, a day trip to Albania, seeing the Achilleion Palace, and the museums in Corfu Town.
This Lawrence Durrell walk takes you from Kaminaki Beach in northern Corfu to the White House in Kalami where the writer Lawrence Durrell lived for four year.
The main two Corfu saints are Saint Spyridon, the patron saint of Corfu who saved the island four times from disaster, and Saint Theodora Augusta.
Greece Travel Secrets’ pick of where to stay in southern Corfu including hotels in Moraïtika, Paramonas, Messonghi, Agios Georgios, and near Benitses.
The Korission Lagoon on the west coast of Corfu is also called Lake Korission and has abundant wildlife, especially birds, and one of the best beaches on Corfu.
Northern Corfu’s beaches and villages include busy resorts and secluded beaches, with several hill and mountain villages well worth visiting.
Corfu Town’s Old Fortress is the town’s most striking landmark, standing east of the Old Town on top of a rocky promontory.
Corfu writers and artists inspired by the island include both residents and visitors, like Gerald and Lawrence Durrell, Edward Lear, and Henry Miller.
Paleokastritsa is on the west coast of Corfu and is one of the most popular holiday spots. This page gives information on beaches, boat trips, weather and map.
Corfu’s marine life includes dolphins, loggerhead turtles, and rare Mediterranean monk seals.
Information for travelers on Corfu Food and Drink including restaurants and tavernas, Corfiot specialties, desserts, wine and other Greek drinks like ouzo.
There are three islands off the northwest coast of Corfu, Erikouusa, Othoni and Mathraki, popular with day-trippers from resorts like Sidari.
Southern Corfu has busy beach resorts like Benitses, historical buildings like the Achilleion Palace and Gardiki Castle, and wildlife at the Korision Lagoon.
The best beaches on Corfu, chosen by Greece Travel Secrets, include Paleokastritsa, Mirtiotissa, Sidari and Cape Asprokavos.
The Corfu Trail runs from the southernmost point of Corfu at Cape Asprokavos and winds for 220km (137 miles) to the northernmost point near Andinioti Lagoon.
Greece Travel Secrets picks where to stay in northern Corfu with budget and luxury hotels in Sidari, Daphnila Bay, Kontokali, Ipsos, Barbati and more.
From Nero to Nicolas Cage, the invasion of Corfu goes back to Roman times and through to Hollywood today!
Benitses is a popular resort town south of Corfu Town with its own marina, remains of a Roman Baths, an old town, and plenty of walks inland.
North-West Corfu’s beaches and villages include busy resorts, quiet beaches, hill villages, and places ideal for watching the sunset,
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