As every year, our organization participated by presenting the Andros Routes project at the 8th Panhellenic Trails Meeting that took place from Friday 10 to Sunday 13 October in Kastoria. The Meeting was organized by the Aenaon-neverest Association in collaboration with the University of Western Macedonia, the Region of Kastoria, the Municipality of Kastoria and the Municipality of Nestorio.

Institutional organizations, professionals, representatives of civil society organizations, academics, as well as representatives and professionals of publications and the media, discussed the present and future of hiking and hiking networks in Greece, presenting their work.

The rich program of the Meeting included presentations of hiking networks and their managers from all over Greece – for example Mainalo, Patmos, Agrafa, Sikinos, Kilkis, Pindos, Sithonia, Gortynia. The work of professionals in the field of printed cartography, digital cartography, augmented reality (AR) applications and the projection of hiking routes was also presented.

In the context of the meeting, the different models of management of hiking networks, the opportunities that emerge from hiking tourism for local communities and the connection of routes with cultural heritage were discussed. Questions and concerns were raised about the significant commitment and care required for the supervision and maintenance of hiking networks. The speech on the state of air rescue in Greece was interesting, as was the discussion that followed, which led unanimously to the decision to draft a resolution to be signed and sent to the relevant ministries.

The presentation of our project in Andros was held in the context of the round table “Creation, operation, maintenance, certification, sustainability of hiking routes/trails” by Olga Karagianni and Katerina Pantazi, entitled: “16 years of Andros Routes volunteer project for the heritage of the rural area and the paths of Andros”. In the context of our presentation, a brief history of the project and the tools for the maintenance and supervision of the routes were given. The important role of volunteers in the maintenance of the routes and of people in the primary sector, as well as people from Cultural Associations, as custodians of the natural and cultural heritage of Andros, was emphasized. The complementary actions of our organization and their benefits through the enrichment of the tourism product of Andros were briefly presented, as well as the transformation of research findings into projects, actions, and tools for the revitalization of the rural area and the promotion of heritage in synergy with tourism. Finally, the need to include local organizations in central planning and institutional protection of hiking routes was underlined.

The parallel events of the organization were also rich, including a guided tour of the old districts of Kastoria, boating on the lake, a concert in the courtyard of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, activities for children, 2 photography exhibitions, as well as hikes to Psalida, the Monastery of Agios Nikolaos Koromilia and Grammos mountain with a guided tour of the National Reconciliation Park.

We warmly thank the organizers of the Meeting for the excellent organization and warm hospitality.

See you at the 9th Panhellenic Trails Meeting next year in Kilkis!