The Ionian Landscape: Interior Villages and Countryside
Corfu’s interior holds a landscape that distinguishes the island from the drier Aegean. The olive groves that cover much of the countryside were planted during Venetian rule, and the cypress-lined roads of the central villages have appeared in European literature for generations. Villages like Old Perithia on the slopes of Mount Pantokrator have been restored after decades of abandonment, and Paleokastritsa on the western coast with its monastery and dramatic headlands carries the kind of atmosphere that rewards overnight stays beyond the more familiar coastal towns.
A bespoke Corfu itinerary that includes the interior depends on private transportation and local guidance that understands the rhythms of the island’s countryside. Benarrivati arranges private drivers and guides whose familiarity with the landscape allows travelers to move between the countryside and the old town alongside the coast at the pace the trip requires.