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Although buses bound for Apollon (in the north) link up the central Naxian villages, the core of the island - between Naxos Town and Apiranthos - is best explored by motorbike or on foot. Much of the region is well off the beaten track, and can be a rewarding excursion if you've had your fill of beaches; Christian Ucke's Walking Tours on Naxos , available from bookshops in Naxos town, is a useful guide for hikers. Once out of Hora, you quickly arrive at the neighbouring villages of GLINADHO and GALANADHO , forking respectively right and left. Both are scruffy market centres: Glinadho is built on a rocky outcrop above the Livadhi plain, while Galanadho displays the first of Naxos's fortified mansions and an unusual "double church". A combined Orthodox chapel and Catholic sanctuary separated by a double arch, the church reflects the tolerance both by the Venetians during their rule and by the locals to established Catholics afterwards. Continue beyond Glinadho to TRIPODHES (ancient Biblos), 9km from Naxos Town. Noted by Homer for its wines, this old-fashioned agricultural village has nothing much to do, but you can enjoy a coffee at the shaded kafenio. The start of a long but rewarding walk is a rough road (past the parish church) which leads down the colourful Plaka valley, past an old watchtower and the Byzantine church of Ayios Mattheos ("mosaic pavement"), and ends at the glorious Plaka beach. To the east, the twin villages of SANGRI , on a vast plateau at the head of a long valley, can be reached by continuing to follow the left-hand fork past Galanadho, a route which allows a look at the domed eighth-century church of Ayios Mamas (on the left), once the Byzantine cathedral of the island but neglected during the Venetian period and now a sorry sight. Either way, Kato Sangri boasts the remains of a Venetian castle, while Ano Sangri is a comely little place, all cobbled streets and fragrant courtyards. Thirty-minutes' stroll away, on a path leading south out of the village, are the partially reconstructed remains of a Classical temple of Demeter.
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