Donoussa Sights: The Walks, Skoulonissi & the Sunsets
The sights of Donoussa are its landscape and its walks rather than monuments, chief among them the coast-and-mountain circuit that crosses the empty island. The great walk passes the hamlet of Kalotaritissa and a dream-beach looking out on the islet of Skoulonissi in clear turquoise water. The sunsets over the mountains of Naxos are the island's other set piece, and the German shipwreck off Kedros beach adds a curiosity. This is a place to see on foot, slowly, rather than to tick off a list.
- Best walk
- Coast & mountains
- Islet
- Skoulonissi
- Curiosity
- Kedros shipwreck
- Set-piece
- Sunset over Naxos
The coast-and-mountain walk
The finest sight of Donoussa is a walk. We once set out from Stavros and walked three hours along the coastline, then turned back two hours over the mountains, and in all that time met no one but a few people living in a tiny village we passed. The path crosses empty, beautiful country and reaches a small dream-beach with rocks in the water, looking out on the islet of Skoulonissi. It is the best walk we have ever made, and it is reason enough to come to the island. Bring water and food, since there is nothing to buy along the way.
Skoulonissi islet
Skoulonissi is a small islet off Donoussa, seen from the dream-beach near Kalotaritissa in the north. From the little rocks in the shallows it rises out of clear turquoise water, a gorgeous view that made us stay for hours to rest and swim. It is the kind of quiet, empty scene that Donoussa keeps for those willing to walk to it.
Kalotaritissa and its church
The northern hamlet of Kalotaritissa is a few houses and a church, the small settlement we passed on the great walk. It is the goal of the island's best circuit and the base for the beaches of Sapounohoma, Mesa Amos and Tripiti. There is nothing grand to see, only a plain village church and a scattering of homes, but the setting and the walk to it are the point. The beaches around it are set out in the Donoussa beaches guide.
The Kedros shipwreck
Off the sands of Kedros beach lies the island's one clear historical curiosity: a Second World War German ship that once rested on the seabed and was pulled up a few years ago, with part of its hull still standing out on the bottom. It is easily seen on a swim at Kedros, the largest beach of Donoussa, a kilometre and a twenty-minute walk from Stavros.
Sunsets over Naxos
The sunsets on Donoussa are among the best I have seen. The sun goes down over the mountains of the island's larger neighbour, Naxos, and the harbour at Stavros gives a clear view. We would make sure to be home in time, sit down with a cup of coffee and watch it fall. How the sights fit into the wider island is set out in the Donoussa island guide.