From Myli, it’s a four-hour hike up Mt Ohi (1398m) for magnificent Aegean views. It’s possible to stay overnight at a refuge at 1000m, then hike up to catch sunrise. The summit (Profitis Ilias peak) is home to the ancient and mysterious drakospita (dragon houses), Stonehenge-like dwellings or temples dating from the 7th century BC, hewn from rocks weighing several tonnes and joined without mortar.
The dragon houses' commanding position near marble quarries suggest that they were guard posts; another theory holds that they honoured mythological deities that roamed the Mt Ohi, in particular the goddess Hera. Another dragon house near the road to Styra (30km north of Karystos) is equally fascinating.
