NISYROS TRAVEL GUIDE

NISYROS > BEACHES

BEACHES

Hohlakoi

The closest place to Hora where one can swim is the quite lengthy beach of Hohlakoi. It was named after the large, smooth pebbles both in the sea and on the beach. The black colour of the pebbles, which is due to their volcanic origin, is very impressive. The pebbles come from the erosion of the “pillow-lavas”, the age of which is over 160,000 years being the oldest rocks that can be found on the island.

At the one end of the beach there is a cavity in the rocks and behind it some trees and bushes.

Gialiskari

This is a sandy beach of moderate size with some trees. The sand of the beach is very fine, with some pebbles as you enter the sea. The colour of the sand used to be white due to the facilities of a firm in the area extracting pumice, so the beach was also known as “lefki akti” (white shore). The beach now has the dark colour of the black volcanic grains of sand that used to be covered by the pumice. It is found on the northern side of the island, 2 km east of Mandraki, on the way to Paloi.

Lyes

It is located on the northeast side of the island, east of Paloi, down the road that passes in front of the Pantelidis’ Baths. The beach starts about 3 km after Paloi, where the asphalt stops. The length of this beach exceeds 1.5 km and actually includes many small and bigger sandy beaches inside the coves formed by the sea. There are pebbles at places but the coast is mainly covered by dark sand. There is no shade.

Paloi

Once the island’s fishing village, it is now rapidly developing as a resort, while still retaining its peace and quiet. It is the port and sea outlet of Emporeios, with a population of around 150 during the winter, a number that rises considerably during the summer. Its sandy beach is nice and quite lengthy, with many trees. The sand is very fine both in and out of the water, while there are also large pebbles next to the sea, which keep the waters shallow.

At the east end of the bay we find the buildings of the Pantelidis' spa utilizing the spring, which is rich in sulphurated hydrogen, the volcano’s gift to the area since antiquity. Next to the spring there are the ruins of the roman baths and very near, built inside the rock, the Chapel of Panagia “Thermiani”.

Pahia Ammos

It is difficult to reach this beach, which is 10 km from Mandraki. It is on the east side of the island and one can get there by the road after Paloi that passes in front of the Pantelidis’ Baths. There is asphalt up to a point and then dirt road all along the Lyes Beach. At the end of this road there is a car park from where it is a ten-minute walk on a quite difficult path in order to cross the high hills that hide the beach. It is a very wide beach of around 350 meters. Its sand is very coarse and dark. Whoever wishes to visit it should bear in mind that there is no shade and that nudism is practiced.