Aladinou, Menites & Foros Cave on Andros

There are many villages on Andros and in several of them there are old watermills, laundry facilities built of marble, stone bridges, fountains, dovecotes, churches and chapels. The most famous stone bridge is the one in Stenies, but the bridge in Aladinou (180 inhabitants) is also worth seeing and a popular excursion destination. Near Aladinou there is a fascinating cave called Foros. When it comes to old fountains, the most interesting one is in the village of Menites (220 inhabitants). The best thing about these three sights is that they are very close to each other. Menites is located 6 kilometres west of Chora and 22 kilometres east of Batsi.

The village of Aladinou on the right, the Monastery of Panachrantos just above.

The beautiful stone bridge in Aladinou.

Like many other places on Andros, Aladinou is also green and lush.

The fountain in Menites consists of six marble lion heads and waters flow from their mouths and it is widely known as the “Springs of Menites” or “Springs of Dionysos”. The fountain is located in the centre of the village, next to a shady square with plane and walnut trees. According to legend, the name Menites comes from Dionysian nymphs – and it is said that the Lion Fountain was the original springs of a temple dedicated to the wine god Dionysus.

Springs of Menites, or Springs of Dionysos, in Menites.

Take the opportunity to fill up your water bottles while you're here, or wash your sandals.

The fountain flows all year round and the water is of high quality and it taste delicious. Take the opportunity to fill up your water bottles while you are here. Remains of old watermills and olive presses can still be found in the area. The fountain is the starting point for several hiking trails, including the Menites route, which is number 1.

One of the lion heads in the lion fountain.

Thanks to the fact that water flows all year round, the area is incredibly verdant - and beautiful.

An incredibly grand house in the village of Menites.

The Foros Cave is located about 500 metres south of Aladinou and is well worth a visit, unless you suffer from claustrophobia. When we were on Andros for the first time, we walked to the cave out of curiosity and were really looking forward to exploring it. We like caves in Greece. But when we arrived at the sign you see below, and read what it said, we were not as interested in going down into the cave.

Sign showing the way to Foros Cave.

When we read this, we decided not to go into the cave.

It turned out that the cave could only be visited with an experienced guide, and there was none nearby, so we didn't have to decide whether to go down or not, which we had already decided. :-). A guided tour takes between 30–45 minutes and offers passages with stalactites, stalagmites and columns. The cave is about 60 metres deep and extends over 300 metres. As I said, we didn't go down into the cave, but the hike there was very pleasant, so we still got something out of the visit.

The entrance to Foros Cave just south of the village of Aladinou.

Read about caves in Greece that we have dared to go down into »

Aladinou seen from the path to Foros Cave.

Although we didn’t go into the cave, the trail leading there was really enjoyable.

WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT MISS IF YOU LIKE OLD STONE BRIDGES

Don't miss the stone bridge in Stenies, which you can read about here »

READ MORE ABOUT ANDROS