This is the old road that led the inhabitants of the mountain village of Exogi to their farmlands in the fertile valley of Platreithias and the port of Frikes.

Start at the bridge “gefyri” of Platreithias and walk on the narrow road to the left of “Gefyri” restaurant. At the first fork in the road go to the left and continue walking next to the myrtle bushes while having on your left side a torrent. It is the “river of Platreithias”, the most important torrent or stream on the whole of Ithaca, which starts high up on the mountain of Exogi, crosses the Platreithias basin and ends at Frikes bay. The road that you are walking on is stone paved, quite wide at a slight uphill angle and every now and then there are low steps.

After the stone paved road passes through olive groves and vineyards it leads to a spectacular landscape. Ahead, at a rising, you can see the church of the Virgin Mary behind which is the forested mountain of Exogi and to the left, at a lower level, your attention is drawn by a huge vertical boulder tens of meters tall which is surrounded by wild vegetation. You are now at Melanythros! There is a fork in the road here. If you walk a few meters to the left toward the vertical boulder, you will see the Homeric “Melanythros Fountain” at its base. » (Odyssey hymn 158: «αι μεν είκοσι βήσαν επί κρήνην μελάνυδρον…»). Return to the fork in the road and continue uphill on the stone paved road toward Exogi.

On the left you will see the small narrow road which will lead you to the small church of the Virgin Mary (Panagia). On the right and left sides of the entrance of the church you will see two ancient inscriptions fitted into the wall. Return to the stone paved road, cross the dirt road and continue uphill. On your right you will see the archaeological area “Agios Athanasios – Homer’s School”, where you will find the prehistorical acropolis which archaeological excavations identify as the palace of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca. Continue uphill on the stone paved road high up to Exogi, one of the three oldest settlements of Ithaca (first reference in 1548). The view from here of the basin of Northern Ithaca and the magnificent Afales bay is one of a kind!