At the edges of the agricultural plain just inland from Fry cluster a number of villages, linked to each other by road; all are worth a passing visit, and can be reached by foot in a single day.

 

Larger in extent and more rural than Fry, AYÍA MARÍNA , 1500m inland and uphill, is most attractive seen from the south, arrayed above olive groves; one of its two belfried churches is the focus of the island's liveliest festival, on July 17. Some fifteen minutes beyond the hamlet of Kathístres, a further 500m southwest, the cave of Ellinokamára is named for the late Classical, polygonal wall completely blocking the entrance; its ancient function is uncertain, perhaps a cult shrine or tomb complex. To reach it, turn south at the two restored windmills in Ayía Marína, then right (west) at the phone-box junction; carry on, straight and down (not level and left) until you see a red-dirt path going up the hillside to a crude, stone-built pastoral hut. Some modern masonry walls enclose the start of this path, but once at the hut (the cave is more or less underneath it) you're compelled to hop a fence to visit - there are no gates. From Ellinokamára another, fainter path - you'll probably need a guide - continues within ninety minutes in the same direction to the larger, more natural cave of Seláï , with impressive stalactites in the rear chamber.

Generally, walking opportunities on Kássos are poor - trails are few, unmarked and in poor condition, with no shade and few reliable water sources. An exception is the forty-minute path from Arvanitohóri to Póli, which is clearly walled in and enjoyable, shortcutting the road effectively - it starts at the base of the village, where two trees occupy planter wells. PÓLI , somewhat impoverished and resolutely agricultural, is the site of a badly deteriorated ancient and medieval acropolis - a few stretches of fortification remain - and marks the start of a four-kilometre road leading southeast to Áyios Mámas , signposted in dialect as "Áï Mámas" , one of two important rural monasteries, perched spectacularly overlooking the sea. Alternatively, from Póli you can descend - again on walled-in path for the first twenty minutes, then dirt track - to PANAYÍA , famous for its now-neglected mansions - many of Kássos's wealthiest ship captains hailed from here - and for the oldest surviving church on the island, the eighteenth-century Panayía tou Yióryi .

Between Ayía Marína and Arvanitohóri, another road, that used to be just a dirt track and was only recently paved over, veers off southwest from the road linking the two villages towards the rural monastery of Áyios Yeóryios Hadhión . The pleasure of walking this route, however, has been somewhat diminished by the paving over of the road, so you'll probably want to hire a taxi, rent a bike if available or hitch a lift in at least one direction. At the beginning of the route you skirt the narrows of a fearsome gorge, and from there on you are unlikely to see another living thing aside from goats, sheep or an occasional Eleonora's falcon. After about an hour, the Mediterranean appears to the south, a dull expanse ruffled only by the occasional ship bound for Cyprus and the Middle East. When you finally reach a fork, adopt the upper, right-hand turning, following derelict phone lines towards Áyios Yeóryios Hadhión (signed as "Áï Yeóryi" ), 12km (3hr on foot) from Fry. This is busiest at its late-April festival time, but during the warmer months there's a resident caretaker who runs a small snack/drinks bar. There are a few open guest cells (ask nicely, donation expected) and cistern water here if you need to fill up canteens; the only other water en route is a well at the route's high point.

From the monastery it's another 3km on dirt track - motorbikes can make it most of the way - to Hélatros ("Hélathros" on older maps), a lonely cove at the mouth of one of the larger, more forbidding Kassiot canyons. The sand-and-gravel beach itself is small and mediocre, but the water is pristine and - except for the occasional fishing boat - you'll probably be alone. The lower, left-hand option at the fork is the direct track to Hélatros, but this is only 2km shorter and, following severe 1995 storm damage, impassable to any vehicle and all but the most energetic hikers; since the paving of the upper road to Áï Yeóryi, it is likely to have got even worse.