North of Karystos, some 30' on foot, we find the village of Mili. At the top end of the village starts a footpath that snakes up the mountainside of Ochi. After a 35' ascent it reaches the location Kilindri, at an altitude of 540m above sea level, where we find the remains of a Roman quarry of monolithic columns. Ten gigantic columns,(12m long and 1,5 m diam. Apprx.) quarried straight out of the rock still lie intact. They would have been transported by boat to ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople or other destinations.

After the Roman quarry, the path continues up and 30' later it reaches the location of Kakia Skala. At this point the path becomes a kalderimi (cobbled path) which meanders up the mountainside, through huge rocks-monuments of Nature. It continues at an altitude of 800m, where it contours gentle slopes until it reaches the mountain refuge, at an altitude of 1100m, next to the wild chestnut forest of Kastanologos.

The forest covers 60 hectares and is considered to be the last ancient forest in South Evia. Its trees are 200 to 300 years old and it constitutes a natural habitat for 60 species of mountain birds and a large number of reptiles that live on Mt Ochi.

OCHI mountain and Dragonhouse (1396 m)

From the refuge we follow the path that leads north, to the top of the mountain. After a 50' ascent on rather rough terrain it reaches a weathering plateau that resembles a lunar landscape. From here the view to the Aegean is stunning. A number of rare birds nestle on this plateau and its rocks offer shelter to a great many endemic plants. The highest point of the mountain is the peak of Profitis Ilias (1396m).

Just below the peak we find the most important and enigmatic monument of Ochi: the Dragon-house. The archaeologists maintain that it may have been a place of worship dedicated to Hera or Hercules. According to mythology the coupling between Hera and Jupiter happened on the top of OHI. The mountain was named due to that event (OHIA = Copulation, Join).

The construction is made of huge monolithic stones and the thickness of the walls reaches up to 1.5m.
This building is one of the earliest samples of architecture in our country (6th - 7th century B.C.) and was thus named by the natives, due to the huge stones - weighting many tons each - with which it had been built

Trekking in Demosaris Gorge

The Demosaris Gorge constitutes one of the most beautiful landscapes of Evia.

The route starts from Petrokanalo below Giouda, the peak of Ochi Mt(1396), and follows a 10km trail (3,5 hours) which ends on the beach of Kallianou (Lenossei), in the Aegean sea. The trail follows the Demosaris river and is partly stone paved (ancient cobbled track).

The descent is done through a stunning landscape of plane and chestnut trees. Eco-tourists and those keen on bird watching will discover a unique paradise, since, 210 species of birds.