One trek begins from Mikro Papingo to Astraka and takes a little less than three hours one way; the refuge is visible from Megalo Papingo. One can walk to Mikro from Megalo in half an hour, via a restored kalderimi off of the asphalt road, which crosses an historic bridge. The one advantage of taking an extra quarter hour to walk via the asphalt road all the way is that there are some pools in the river where you can go swimming. The landmark for these is an arch made of masonry before a large bend in the road. The O3 trail resumes at the top of Mikro Papingo, and is well-marked. In about forty minutes you reach the Antalki spring, after which the forest you've been walking through thins out and the trail ascends to the Trafos spring. One marked trail branches off from here to the Astraka summit (2436meters), which takes three hours round-trip from this point. Straight ahead, following the O3 trail, you reach the EOS refuge in about half an hour, which is on a saddle between Astraka and Mt. Lapatos. You might want to get details about availability of bunks before going on the climb. Meals are available at the refuge too, but are rather expensive.
About an hour from the refuge, on well-marked paths, is Dhrakolimni Lake (Dragon Lake) is to the northeast of the refuge, on the other side of the marshy valley called Lakka Tsoumani, the lake located on the edge of the Gamily range.
A much longer walk of some nine hours to the east of the refuge, and through the Karteros pass leads to the village of Vryssohori. Good maps are needed for this hike, which is best attempted by experienced trekkers. The path leads at first to Mt. Gamila (2497 meters), which is about two and a half hours (upward) from the refuge, but then heads south before the path to the summit and instead passes between the Karteros and Gamila peaks, this part of the trail a bit dangerous, what with a lot of scree on the far side. Things get easier, however, after the sheepfold of Katsanos, where the path joins up with another less arduous one coming from the village of Skamnelli in the south; then follows the descent to Vryssohori. This village is situated at the base of Tsouka Roussa peak in very dense woods. It was burned by the Germans during WWII; is very small, and without a taverna, though it has one inn. Camping on the edge of town, though, is possible by one of two springs on either side of the O3 descending from Karteros.
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