Mt Pantokratoras or Pantokrator is the highest peak (906 meters / 2,972 ft) of Corfu, from which you can admire the Ionian Sea, the Albanian mountains and the beautiful Corfiot villages. The dirt road leading to the summit of Pantokrator is long and extremely interesting from the point of view of the view.
How to get to Pantokrator
To reach Pantokrator from Corfu Town, follow the signs to Paleokastritsa and turn towards Dassia to go to Spartila. The moment you reach Spartyla, a 6 km dirt road begins, offering excellent views of the village, which seems to hang a little in the mountains.
As you drive up to the top of Pantokrator, you pass through the area of Strinyla, where the landscape changes dramatically: Corfu is no longer the cosmopolitan and very touristy place it once was, but becomes quieter, a rural area with paddocks, terraces and vegetable gardens.
Monastery of Pantokrator
The road from Petaleia leads to the top of Pantokratoras, which you can also take if you want to visit the Monastery of Pantokrator. The Monastery of High Pantokrator is located at an altitude of 900 m and is an exceptionally renovated monastery.
It is a single-roomed, vaulted church with the monks’ cells adjoining. The iconostasis dates from 1711 and there are numerous paintings and silver poinsettias in the church. Currently, one monk lives in the monastery.
The huge ERT antenna on the mountain, very close to the monastery, will put you off a little, and you may feel that the metal structures are an affront to the beauty of the landscape, but unfortunately the years of effort by the residents have not paid off.
Pantokrator is a mountain of exceptional beauty and an area known for its beautiful hiking trails. From Strinyla, an excellent trail leads to the top of the mountain, offering breathtaking views. The same trail is also a popular mountain bike route and is considered a particularly beautiful off-road route if you want to experience new adventures with your jeep.