Folegandros
Until the mid-1980s, there was no paved road between Chora and Ano Meria on Folegandros: you walked or rode a mule along a dirt pa...
Updated 10 July 2026
Folegandros
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This season · July · Summer
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The story
The story of Folegandros
A history of isolation and resistance
The oldest traces of settlement on Folegandros date back to the Bronze Age, but it is in the classical period that the island appears in Greek sources, often mentioned alongside neighboring Sikinos and Anafi as marginal land compared to the centers of power in the Cyclades. In Roman times its harshness made it a place of exile for disgraced figures, a function it shared with other minor islands of the Aegean. Byzantines, Genoese and finally Venetians succeeded one another in control of the territory: it was the latter, in the thirteenth century, under the Duchy of Naxos of the Sanudo family, who built the fortified nucleus that today is the heart of Chora. Centuries of Ottoman domination and pirate raids followed, which pushed the inhabitants to take refuge inland and build defensible villages instead of harbors open to the sea.
The Kastro of Chora
The historic core of Chora is a kastro in the most literal sense of the word: the houses, pressed against one another around four concentric courtyards, formed a continuous ring that served as defensive walls, with a single entrance that could be closed off in case of attack. Built by the Venetians in the 13th century and reworked several times since, the Kastro still retains its labyrinthine structure today: narrow paved alleys, low arches, balconies flowering with geraniums and bougainvillea overlooking small squares where people dine outdoors in the evening. There are no cars, no intrusive signs: only white stone and the sound of footsteps. Strolling through its four main squares, one after another, remains the best way to understand how a Cycladic community lived under the constant threat of raids.
The Church of Panagia, suspended over the void
Above Chora, on a rocky spur that overlooks the village and the open sea, stands the Church of Panagia, the destination of a pilgrimage that the islanders still make today along a stepped path cut into the rock. The climb, about twenty minutes at a slow pace, offers one of the most striking views in the Cyclades: the white houses of Chora clinging to the edge of the cliff, the blue that stretches as far as the eye can see, the lights that come on one after another at sunset. On August 15th, for the Feast of the Dormition, the church becomes the focus of one of the island's most heartfelt religious celebrations, with a procession that leaves the village and ends beneath its white walls.
Ano Meria, the island's rural soul
If Chora is the public face of Folegandros, Ano Meria is its rural soul. The village, actually a sequence of small clusters scattered along the road that crosses the western plateau, has preserved a rural economy made up of terraces, dry-stone walls, goat farming and barley cultivation. The small Folklore Museum, housed in an old farmhouse, tells the story of the inhabitants' daily life before the arrival of tourism: farming tools, looms, wood-fired kitchens. In the surrounding area some of the stone threshing floors once used to thresh grain can still be found, and it is not uncommon to come across shepherds moving their flock along the paths that connect the fields to the few beaches reachable from this side of the island.
Karavostasis, the gateway to the sea
Karavostasis is the port of Folegandros, a small settlement that grew up around the ferry landing, with a handful of taverns along the seafront and a dark sand beach handy for those arriving or leaving without time to travel elsewhere. It lacks the scenic grandeur of Chora, but its function has always remained the same: to be the point of contact between the island and the rest of the world. From here small boats also depart in summer, connecting the village to the most secluded beaches of the southern coast, otherwise reachable only on foot along steep, sparsely shaded paths.
Katergo and the beaches reachable only on foot or by boat
The coast of Folegandros offers no easy shores: the best beaches must be earned with a walk or a caique crossing, and it is precisely this that preserves them. Katergo, on the south-western tip, is considered the most beautiful on the island: light pebbles, clear water and an amphitheater of rocks that shelters it from the wind, reachable via a roughly forty-five-minute path from Agkali or by boat from Karavostasis during the summer months. Livadi (or Livadaki), below the Church of Panagia, is smaller and equally secluded. Agkali, the largest and best equipped, remains nonetheless free of large facilities: a few taverns, basic umbrellas, the bare essentials.
A landscape of rocks, capers and wind
Folegandros is a vertical island: its western and southern coasts plunge sheer into the sea for over two hundred meters, while the interior is an arid plateau crossed by dry-stone walls that trace terraces now partly abandoned. The vegetation is typical of the driest Cycladic scrubland: thyme, wild oregano, broom and above all capers, which grow wild along the rocky slopes and are still hand-picked by some local families. The wind, particularly the summer meltemi, is a constant presence that has shaped the very architecture of the villages, oriented to offer the least possible shelter from the gusts.
Flavors of the plateau: matsata and goat cheeses
The cuisine of Folegandros reflects its pastoral economy and the scarcity of water that has always limited agriculture. The signature dish is matsata, a fresh handmade pasta served with rooster or rabbit sauce, often topped with grated local cheese. Sourotyri, a slightly tangy fresh cheese made from goat's milk, appears in almost every dish on the island, from salads to fillings. Capers gathered on the rocky slopes end up preserved or in salads, while the ovens of Chora still produce wood-fired bread made according to recipes handed down from family to family. To drink, the local wine, produced in small quantities from vines resistant to wind and drought.
What not to miss in Folegandros
- The Kastro of Chora at sunset, when the houses glow with golden light
- The climb to the Church of Panagia for the view over the cliff
- A day at Katergo beach, reached on foot or by boat
- The Folklore Museum of Ano Meria to understand the island's rural life
- A matsata dinner in a taverna in Chora
- The coastal path between Agkali and Livadaki, amid rocks and Mediterranean scrub
When to go
Folegandros's tourist season runs from May to early October, with the best period concentrated between June and the first half of September, when sea connections are more frequent and all the taverns are open. July and August bring the full heat and a fair influx of visitors, mainly Italians and French, but the island still remains less crowded than nearby Santorini or Milos. May, June and September offer milder temperatures, already-warm sea and paths that are walkable without the blazing midsummer sun: these are the ideal months for those who want to hike and enjoy Chora without the crowds. In winter the island empties out almost completely and many sea connections are reduced to a minimum.
FAQ
Come si arriva a Folegandros?
Quanti giorni servono per visitare Folegandros?
Come ci si sposta sull'isola?
Le spiagge sono facilmente raggiungibili con bambini piccoli?
Si trova parcheggio a Chora?
Folegandros è adatta a chi cerca vita notturna?
Getting there
- Nessun aeroporto sull'isola; il più vicino con collegamenti regolari è quello di Santorini, raggiungibile poi in traghetto
- Non esistono collegamenti stradali: si arriva esclusivamente in traghetto dal Pireo (circa 4-8 ore a seconda del tipo di nave) o, in estate, da Santorini, Ios, Sikinos e Milos.
- Prenotare il traghetto con anticipo in alta stagione; i mezzi veloci dimezzano i tempi ma sono più soggetti a cancellazioni col vento forte (meltemi).
Perfect for
Chilometri di sentieri tra terrazzamenti e falesie collegano Chora, Ano Meria e le spiagge più isolate, ideali per chi ama camminare lontano dalla folla.
Spiagge raggiungibili solo a piedi o in barca, acque trasparenti e nessuna grande struttura balneare a rovinare il paesaggio.
Niente vita notturna sfrenata: le serate si vivono tra le piazze di Chora, con cene lunghe e vista sul tramonto.
Ano Meria racconta un'economia contadina ancora visibile nei campi terrazzati, nelle capre al pascolo e nel Museo Folkloristico.
To see
What to see in Folegandros
Routes · Trovido Route
