Langada on Amorgos

I'm childishly fond of rustic family-run tavernas where it takes time to order and even longer to get the food, tavernas that often are located at the fringe of a small square in small Greek villages. On the square in Langada is a taverna like that. And it is thanks to the square and Taverna Loza that I constantly yearns to Langada.

I can sit here for hours and do nothing, maybe I glance at some few pages of a book, otherwise I just sit and receive the Greek everyday life taking place like a movie in front of my eyes. What happens in Langada happens on the square, and Taverna Loza has parquet place. Dimitris, who runs the taverna together with his mother, is very friendly and interesting to talk to. It is not for the food you go here, because it is very simple, you go here for the atmosphere.

In the square there is also a butcher, two minimarkets, an old kafenion, a police station (!), and another taverna. A little further down in the village lies Taverna Nikos who has better food than Taverna Loza.

Café in Langada.

One of many beautiful alleys in Langada.

Apart from a lunch at the fantastic square, you should take the opportunity to go for a stroll in the village, Langada is a traditional mountain village with winding alleys where bougainvilleas climb between the houses, you meet few people, it's quiet, sometimes you hear a donkey braying or a cock crowing, if you stop you might hear some villagers quietly converse during the siesta. To stroll around in the alleys of Langada is as soothing as meditation.

Langada from above. I took the picture when we was hiking to Machos windmills.

Langada. In the background you see Tholaria.

Langada seen from Tholaria. The windmills in Machos at the top of the mountain.

To get to Langada, you can either take the bus from Aegiali, hike along the old donkey path or drive (4 km) a private vehicle. The distance is an enjoyment to cover, the nearer the village you get, the nicer the view over Aegiali and the mighty ocean get.

Notice the small church of Agia Triada which is squeezed into a rock crevice on the right side of the road. Start to look up when you have reached about halfway, the whitewashed steps that leads to the church begins at the roadside.

Agia Triada church which is located along the road up to Langada.

Aegiali on the left, Tholaria in the middle and Langada on the right.

Some of the most popular hiking trails on Amorgos begins near the parking lot just outside Langada: first the hike between Langada and Tholaria, second the hike to the abandoned monastery of Agios Theologos continuing to the mythical church of Stavros, and thirdly the hike to the windmills of Machos.

Kafénion in Langada in 2003.

The square in Langada in 2003.

ACCOMMODATION IN LANGADA

I would gladly stay a few nights in Langada. Of those who are, I think that Amaranto Rooms looks like a very nice accommodation, which offers wonderful views over the mountains and the sea.

Amaranto Rooms »

WHAT YOU MUST NOT MISS WHEN YOU ARE IN LANGADA

Don't miss the hike to Agios Theologos, which you can read about here »

READ MORE ABOUT AMORGOS