KARPATHOS

Located in the Carpathian Sea, between Rhodes and Crete, Karpathos is the second-largest island in the Dodecanese. It features traditional villages renowned for their authenticity and unspoiled beauty, such as Olympos. The island’s inhabitants maintain a vibrant traditional culture in their everyday lives, aspects of which include the local dialect and traditional dress. Karpathos is blessed with abundant natural beauty and is a vital biotope for Greece, with numerous protected areas for rare flora and fauna.

According to mythology, it was the home of both the Titan Iapetus and Proteus, who was its first king.

The island’s main settlement is Pigadia (also known as Karpathos), named for the many local wells. The ancient acropolis of Poseidi is an important local sight and well worth visiting.

The island’s beaches – many of which have been awarded blue flags – stand out for their lush vegetation and crystal-clear waters. Karpathos’ natural beauty is rounded out by high mountains, caves, precipitous slopes and sheer gorges. The islet of Saria, facing Karpathos’ northern extremity, is a true earthly paradise, part of the Natura 2000 network and accessible only by boat.

Cuisine

Even though Karpathos is a mountainous island with rugged geography, its soil is quite fertile and produces many delicious goods. To start with, the island’s vineyards produce some truly excellent varieties of wine. Favorites among the locals include Fokiano, Athiri and Gaidouria, while the local variety of semi-sweet red wine produced at Othos and Volada is also quite popular. The island’s cheeses, notably its armyrotyri and manouli, are also worth sampling. Other local goods include honey, thyme, sage and olive oil. Karpathos also produces handmade pasta known as makarounes, which are the basis for various local recipes and are also served tossed with butter that has been ‘burned’ in a frying pan. Tourta is a type of local savoury pie made with multiple layers of thin dough reminiscent of kourou and filled with sweet myzithra and dill. As far as sweets go, Karpathos is renowned for its baklava. Beyond its culinary tradition, Karpathos is also well known as a producer of textiles.

How to get there

Karpathos is the second largest island in the Dodecanese. It is accessible by direct flight or by ferry from the port of Piraeus.