The plane-tree square
A huge tree and cafรฉs where the village sits every evening.
**The largest village on Naxos, on the flank of the highest mountain in the Cyclades** โ on a slope directly beneath **Mount Zas**, among olive valleys and terraces. It is **a working village, not a tourist front**: white houses stepped down the slope, a central square under an enormous **plane tree** where the older men sit, shops that serve its own people, and the church of **Panagia Filotitissa** with a prominent marble bell tower. It is known for local produce: **olive oil**, **cheese** (Naxian graviera in particular) and **kitron** โ the island's traditional citron liqueur. โ Its most useful quality is that it is **the starting point for climbing Mount Zas** โ the highest peak in the Cyclades at 1,004 m, with the path beginning near the village. โ Do not come looking for a "sight": Filoti is **a coffee and lunch stop** on an inland tour, and the start of a walk for those who want one.
A huge tree and cafรฉs where the village sits every evening.
Panagia Filotitissa and its tower prominent above the slope.
The path climbing to the highest summit in the Cyclades.
Filoti, 84302 Naxos, Greece
**Yes if you walk regularly and choose the short route; no as a casual stroll.** โ **What you gain**: **the highest summit in all the Cyclades** (1,004 m), and on a clear day a **chain of islands** from the top โ Paros, Mykonos, sometimes Santorini and Ikaria. The view genuinely earns it. โ **The clever route**: **do not start from Filoti itself** โ drive the dirt road up to the **chapel of Agia Marina** above the village and start there; this **cuts the climb substantially**, making the walk about **an hour and a half to two hours** there and back instead of four. โ **What to take seriously**: **no shade and no water on the route at all**, the path is **rocky and uneven** with cairn waymarks that vanish in places, and **signal is poor**. โ **Do not climb** after 9 am in July or August, or alone if you are not used to it, or in unsettled weather. โ **On the way**: the **Cave of Zas** โ the cave legend says Zeus grew up in (a third claim, after Dikteon and Idaean).
**A uniquely Naxian drink made from the citron tree's leaves rather than its fruit โ and a protected-origin product.** โ **What it is**: the **citron** (Citrus medica) is an old citrus grown on Naxos for centuries. **Its fruit is nearly all thick rind with little flesh**, so it is not eaten fresh. โ **The Naxian discovery** was that **its leaves** are intensely aromatic โ so they are distilled with alcohol to make a drink, green, yellow or clear depending on strength. It is **exclusive to Naxos** with a protected designation of origin, made in small distilleries, the best known at **Halki**. โ **It is alcoholic** โ roughly 30 to 36 per cent; **anyone avoiding alcohol should not drink it**, and note that it is sometimes served free after a meal in tavernas without being asked for. โ **Non-alcoholic alternatives from the same tree**: **citron preserve** and **candied citron peel** (glyko koutaliou) โ sold in the same shops and a genuine local sweet.
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