Olymbos is
sited on the slopes of Profitis Ilias (600m)
and isthe island's tourist attraction. Cut
off the rest of the world until recently
when the construction of a road
started connecting the village with the rest
island. The inhabitants speak a dialect with
trces of ancient Dorrian Greek. Olympos
is a living museum, of architecture,
ethnology and musicology. The elder women still wear
their colorful traditional costumes in every
day work and bake bread and cookies in the
outside ovens. Tradition here is strong,
something you can see and experience if you
are strong enough to reach Agios Ioannis
chapel (2
hrs walk on the mountains), at the ruins of
ancient Vrykounda, and attend the local
3 days fiesta between 27-29 of August, where
everyone sleeps out. You can see traditional
Karpathian dance, you can hear traditional
local music and songs made up at hock, but
you cannot participate in the all night
Karpathia dance.
Vroukounda
is the site of the ancient Greek
city of Vrykous. The city was built on a
peninsula, at the island's northwest end. It
was destroyed by a strong earthquake
probably during the early Byzantine era. It is widely
accepted today, that the inhabitants of
Vrykous, scattered throughout the island
after the city's destruction and never
rebuilt it, later their
descendants gathered at Elymbos where they
built the first nucleus of the village,
probably in the 16th century.
Diafani
Diafani - the second port of Karpathos - is
he port of Olympos and the only point
of commynication of Elymbites (inhabitants of Olympos)
with the outside world from 1850 until
recently. There are boat trips to nearby
beaches and to the shepherds islet of Saria There are
rooms, some taverns, and some small supermarkets
here.
Messochori
is a picturesque village with the best sunsets
of the island. Worth to visit the church
of Panagia Vrisotisa with a lot of nice
frescos. At the fountains of the church
there is a natural spring. In the afternoon
enjoy your coffee and watch the sunset from
a small cafe build in the cave of a rock,
70m before the church.
Lefkos
is a small fishing village on the
north west coast of the island. At Lefko you
can really find a quiet atmosphere in one of
the 3 beaches. Here are some taverns, some
hotels and a couple of small supermarkets.
Daily buses leave Pigadia for Lefkos.
Beaches
Ahata
Ahata is a little pebble beach between Pigadia and Kira Panagia.
You can reach it following the road on the right just
before Amperi village.
Agios Thoros
This is a well hidden beach 10 minutes
outside Arkasa. If you do manage to find it,
it's really worth while. The
only sound you'll hear, it is from the small waves.
Apella (16km)
A sundy beach with beautiful scenery with turquoise water, a bit hard to reach
it. You can also go there by taking a daily
boat excursion. There is also a tavern
there.
Arkasa (Agios Nicholaos)
This sandy beach is very popular because of big waves there. There are showers on the beach
and a tavern next to the beach.
Amoopi
Amoopi is a little place about 10 minutes
drive from Pigadia. Here are 3 main beaches,
and a lot of small ones for them who wants
some privacy. There are some taverns and
small supermarkets. The biggest of the
beaches is the one most suited for children.
Amoopi offers a beach-volley court, its a
good place for snorkeling. It also offers
some night life with live Greek music and
dancing.
Lefkos(33km)
At Lefkos coastal village3 sandy beaches with shallow waters.
Kyra Panagia (14km)
is a small bay, surrounded by steep cliffs,
where a small church of the second half of
the 18 century, dedicated to the Madonna,
drops straight to the beach.
Kyra Panagia a really beautiful sandy beach with a couple of taverns,
studios and a small hotel. Excursion boats every day take you there from Pigadia.
Devil's Bay
The windsurfing paradise, This long
sandy beach is located near the road leading
to the airport and is a favourite place for
windsurfers because it is always windy.
Windsurfing boards can be rented at hotels
and in a couple of stands on the beach with
wind surfing equipments for rent
All of the beaches listed above are
accessible by car or motorbike. For some of them a jeep
4X4 is needed.
There are other small beaches located
through out the island that you can
explore too.
Events
Local folklore festival on 15th of August on Panagia's (Madonna’s) honour,
that take place in Menetes and Aperi.
The festival of Kyra Panagia on 23rd of
August,
The festival of Saint Jhohn at Vroukounda on 28-29th of August
The wine festival at Lasto, on
changing date during August.
How to get there
- By air:
There are daily flights from Athens,
Rhodes and Kassos (shortest scheduled
flight in the world -5min) and also
directly charter flights The
airport of Karpathos is located on the
southern edge of the island 15km from
the Pigadia reachable only via
taxi service
- By Ferry:There are 3-4
scheduled (departure time afternoon
about 19:00hours) weekly ferries
connections from Piraeus port to
Karpathos in a 22 hours ferry trip.
There are also ferries connecting the
island with its neighbourhood Rhodes and
Crete islands .
Island Hopping:
Karpathos is combined with Crete and Rhodes
islands.
Other island combination upon request.
Because the island is located
between Africa end Europe, many migratory
birds chose this place to rest in its woods
or its marshes, on their way to northern
countries. During the summer, many
traditional festivals take place. The
participants, old and young people, create
with folk dances a wonderful mixture of
colours and melodies.
years ago full of
wineyerds where the best wine in
Karpathos was produced. There are still few farmers'
cottages in the area producing wine in big jars, in the old Greek traditional way.
Once you reach the peak you
will find a breath taking view of the
island and if you are lucky with a "pounenti"
(a west wind) you can be inside the clouds
and experience a straight phenomenon, the creation
and disappearance of heave clouds in
seconds.
