Hiking Mount Zas (1,003m, Highest Peak in the Cyclades), Cave of Zeus and Rotonda

Soaring to 1,003 metres (3,290 feet) above the Aegean directly above Filoti village, Mount Zas (Mount Zeus) is the highest peak in the entire Cyclades archipelago. In Greek mythology, after Zeus was born in the Diktaion Cave on Crete, an eagle carried the young god to this mountain on Naxos, where he was raised inside a high limestone cavern and where Zeus later stood on the summit to hurl his first thunderbolts against the Titans.

Choosing Your Route: The 2 Trails Up Mount Zas

Both marked hiking trails start just a few minutes outside Filoti village and can actually be linked into a single circular loop (start by early in the morning or early in the morning in summer with 1.5 litres of water and proper hiking trainers):

1. Route 1, From Agia Marina Chapel on the Danakos Road: park at the white chapel of Agia Marina on the road between Filoti and Danakos (at 620m elevation). A wide, well-graded ancient mule path climbs steadily up the north-eastern ridge in 1 hour 15 minutes directly to the white summit trigonometric pillar.
2. Route 2, From Aria Spring via the Cave of Zeus: drive 2.5 km south of Filoti to the shaded plane tree and running spring water of Aria Spring. Twenty minutes up the stone trail brings you to the wide rock mouth of the Cave of Zeus (Spilaio tou Za, 620m), where you can walk inside the cool stalactite cavern (bring a phone flashlight) where prehistoric and classical Naxians worshipped Zeus. From the cave, a steeper, rockier goat trail scrambles straight up the western gully to the summit in another 50 minutes.

The 360-Degree Summit Panorama & Sunset at Rotonda (Above Filoti)

At the 1,003-metre peak (where a marble boundary stone from the 4th century BC still reads in ancient Greek letters: "HOROS DIOS MELOSIOU", "Boundary of Mount Zeus, Protector of Flocks"), open the metal cylinder attached to the trigonometric pillar to sign the hikers' summit book while looking out over twenty different Cycladic islands. If you want a similar mountain-top sunset panorama without hiking a single step, drive 10 minutes up the mountain road between Filoti and Apeiranthos to the circular glass-and-stone terrace of Rotonda at 600m elevation for dinner or a sunset glass of Naxian wine overlooking the entire western plain and Paros.