The island view
The whole of Corfu and the Albanian coast across a narrow strait.
Dietmar Rabich โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Pudelek โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Redeemer โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Redeemer โ CC BY-SA 4.0
**The highest point in Corfu at 906 m** โ and from its summit you see the whole island in one sweep, with **the Albanian coast surprisingly close**. The strait between Corfu and Albania is no more than **two kilometres at its narrowest**, and you see it plainly from here: the Albanian mountains facing you across a strip of water. On very clear days locals say the line of Italy shows to the west. On the summit stands **Pantokrator Monastery**, founded in the **14th century** and rebuilt in the 17th, with a small church and a courtyard. โ But be ready for an unwelcome surprise: the summit is occupied by **large telecommunications and radar masts** alongside the monastery โ and they genuinely spoil the picture. Do not expect a clean peak. โ The road up is itself worthwhile: it passes old mountain villages such as abandoned **Strinylas** and **Lafki**, and these are sometimes better than the summit.
The whole of Corfu and the Albanian coast across a narrow strait.
A small 14th-century church rebuilt in the 17th.
Abandoned Strinylas and Lafki โ sometimes better than the top.
Pantokrator, 49081 Corfu, Greece
**Yes on a clear day, and absolutely not on a hazy one โ the masts are a matter of expectation, not a reason to cancel.** โ **Be prepared**: the summit is **not a clean view** โ there are masts, radar, cables and technical buildings alongside the monastery, and they will appear in your photographs whatever you do. Anyone expecting an unspoilt peak will be disappointed. โ **What remains regardless**: **the view itself is exceptional** โ the whole of Corfu end to end, the Ionian, and **the Albanian mountains two kilometres away** with a clarity that astonishes most visitors; and the road up, with its mountain villages, is worthwhile in itself. โ **The decisive rule**: **visibility is everything here**. On a clear morning the trip is excellent; **on a cloudy or dusty day do not go** โ you will drive an hour on a hard road to stand in mist in front of a transmitter.
**Albania yes, easily; Italy very rarely and only in the right conditions.** โ **Albania**: the strait between Corfu and the Albanian mainland is genuinely narrow โ **about two kilometres at its tightest**, off the island's northeast โ so you see the coast, the mountains and sometimes buildings **on any ordinary clear day**, with no special conditions needed. This surprises many people, who picture Corfu as an island far out at sea. โ **Italy**: the distance across the Ionian to the Italian heel is **far greater โ tens of kilometres** โ and seeing it requires **exceptional clarity**, usually at dawn or after a storm has scrubbed the air, and even then you see **a faint line on the horizon** rather than a coastline. โ **So**: promise yourself Albania and treat Italy as a bonus if it happens.
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