Karpathos is situated between Crete and Rhodes. One of the Dodecanese islands charmed me with beautiful and natural landscapes, magnificent beaches and well - preserved local traditions.
I was mostly impressed by the picturesque village of Olympos. Maybe because it was cut off from the rest of the island for a long time it well preserved the traditional culture. Beautifully nested on the top of a mountain, today, it warmly welcomes visitors. And yes, this is a place where you will find a lot of visitors and the locals “adapted” to the situation, but honestly, it all very nice and attractive village since they are offering to visitors their local products.
Strolling the streets, you will certainly meet the locals wearing the traditional costumes, they are proud of their culture and tradition and you will easily see local women embordering or a local man playing on a traditional instrument.
We also had the chance to take a look and taste their cuisine. I’ve tried the handmade makarounes (traditional pasta) and they were delicious.
You will also find many traditional cafes and tavernas, we took a break under the windmill, and enjoyed the magnificent scenery.
Then we went to Avlona, an agricultural village that at first sight looks like an abandoned settlement, but it lies in a large valley, that is very fertile. They told us that in the spring months the valley is covered with green vegetation, they mainly produce wheat and barley, but when we were traveling there in August, everything looked burned out.
Pigadia is the capital city of the island, and you will find many restaurants, bars, shops etc. Practically Pigadia is the place where island life is concentrated. Vivid city that still maintains the laid-back atmosphere. On the top a hill above the city, there are ruins of an ancient acropolis.
Just few kilometres outside Pigadia, lies a small village of Aperi. Another mountain village of Karpathos, laying at the altitude of 350 meters above sea level. We just drive through but still have time to admire how high on the rock some houses and churches were built.
We also made a stop in the village of Othos, had a walk around there and took some shots.
Arkasa village lies in the southwestern part of the island. Large town that was built amphitheatrically on the surrounding hills. In the middle of the village there is a large church with very interesting bell tower.
We were staying at a small, family-owned, hotel in Amopi Bay. We loved the fact that the beach was only a few steps from our hotel so we were able to have early morning or late afternoon swims, when we returned from our trips around the island. The bay was even prettier because of the colourful fishing boats that were anchored there. The main beach of the bay is great, large and with shallow clear waters – great also for families with small kids.
Menetes village is another mountain village on the island that offers unique views all around. Near the village you will also find a war memorial, a statue of Greek soldier that symbolizes the liberty of Karpathos.
We spent some time at the charming and colourful Port Diafani, before we started our day boat trip. Also in Daifani you can find some nice and careful architecture and the vivid port is full of fisherman’s boats.
Lefkos is a charming fishing village on the west coast of Karpathos, it attracts with several amazing beaches with turquoise beaches.
As mentioned already, Karpathos stands out also for the stunning beaches. We visited a few of them, some with a car, some with a boat. We did a boat trip to the beaches on the eastern part of the island (Achata, Kira Panagia, Kato Lakos, Apella). These beaches are known to be the most beautiful beaches of the island, also because they are surrounded by high mountains. In fact, they are very, very nice, but I can’t say that others are less pretty.
If you are looking for water sports activities like windsurfing and kitesurfing, the Southern part of the island is perfect for you. In our opinion it was too windy, so we stopped there only for a short time (so short that we didn’t take any photos 😧💨).
If you are looking for a great Greek island, less touristy, with great landscapes, turquoise sea, great beaches and diverse culinary options, then Karpathos is the right island for you ❗ 👍
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