Old Perithia was abandoned by its inhabitants in the 1960s. Now they are back, thanks to a unique project that has turned it into a spellbinding attraction
The corniche road that winds along Corfu’s north-eastern coast takes me past forested coves and dreamy beaches that draw thousands of tourists each year. But while most visitors base themselves in one of the numerous coastal resorts, I follow a lonely and sinuous road up into the mountains. My destination is Old Perithia – an atmospheric former ghost village – and Mark and Saskia Hendriksen, the couple who have helped revive it and turn it into one of Corfu’s most spellbinding attractions.
As I climb higher, the air cools, the olive trees turn to pines and I wonder whether I have taken a wrong turn, until suddenly the village appears, as if hidden until the final moment. “Of course that’s intentional,” says Mark Hendriksen as I meet him by the entrance. “The village was built in such a way as to see but not be seen,” he adds. Continue reading...
