The tour starts from Salakos, a beautiful agricultural village, located on the foothills of the mountain Profitis Ilias. The third highest mountain of the island awaits us to conquer it! The hike ascent its slopes gradually, it is well maintained, not very rocky and suitable also for beginners due to its quality. Most of the trail is under the shade of ilex trees, pine trees and some olive trees. During the uphill, the views are magnificent towards the Aegean Sea, the coastline of Turkey and some nearby islands, like Halki and Tilos. When arrived at the meadow, we can admire the famous “Elafos and Elafina” (male and female deer in Greek), former Italian Hotels built on 1929 and 1932 following an Alpine Style of architecture. We will also visit the “Villa de Vecci”, once belonging to the former Italian Governor of Rhodes and the Byzantine church of Profitis Ilias. After a short break and a snack, we start the descent back to Salakos.
