Koufonisia Small Cyclades Sights

Koufonisia Sights: Kato Koufonisi, the Panagia and the Chora

The main sight of Koufonisia is the day-boat trip to Kato Koufonisi, the uninhabited island across a 200 m channel from the port. Kato Koufonisi holds the whitewashed church of Panagia, quiet beaches and one taverna. Back on Pano Koufonisi the sights are the car-free Chora and a stone windmill of 1830, and the boats out also pass the sea caves of the islet of Glaronisi and the archaeological island of Keros.

Kato Koufonisi and the sights of Koufonisia, Greece — Kato Koufonisi, across the channel from Koufonisia, Greece

Day trip: Kato Koufonisi
Church: Panagia, 1651
Windmill: 1830
Channel: 200 m

Kato Koufonisi

Kato Koufonisi is the uninhabited second island of Koufonisia, one of the Small Cyclades south and around Naxos. It measures 4.3 km2, is flat, dry and barren, and is home to a few goats, sheep and donkeys. The nearest point to inhabited Pano Koufonisi is only 200 metres of water. There are no ferries to Kato Koufonisi: visitors take the ferry to Pano Koufonisi and cross by tour boat or caique. In summer, from May to September, Captain Christos runs a regular connection from Pano Koufonisi. The island has a deserted village of about 10 houses and a single taverna, with no electricity or water supply, and it is a protected archaeological area.

The church of Panagia

The church of Panagia stands in the south-east of Kato Koufonisi and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It dates from 1651 and was built in secret during the Turkish occupation, on the Byzantine ruins of an older building. A jetty beside it lets the small boats moor, and one of the day-trip stops is here. Nearby stand a beach and the Venetsanos taverna, the only taverna on the island, so anyone walking to the other beaches should carry their own water.

The beaches of Kato Koufonisi

Kato Koufonisi has several quiet beaches that attract naturists, though houses stand near some of them. Nero is the largest, a sandy beach with a jetty and a palm tree where Captain Christos stops. West of Panagia lies Laki, a pebble beach in a sheltered bay, while to the north is Kasteli, about 1,300 metres away at the narrowest point of the channel. Detis is a sheltered sandy beach near the church settlement, Pezoulia a pebble beach in the south reached on foot from Nero, and Fikio a beach in the north reached by boat or path. The hill of Aloni between Detis and Nero carries the ruins of Alonistria and a view across to Keros.

Glaronisi and Keros

Between Keros, Pano and Kato Koufonisi lies the uninhabited islet of Glaronisi, whose name means seagull. White limestone cliffs rise from the turquoise sea, and the islet holds small beaches and caves you can swim into. Glaronisi is not served by ferries and is reached only by tour boat or private boat. The larger island of Keros nearby is an important archaeological site, and both are passed on the boat trips out from Pano Koufonisi.

The Chora and the windmill

On Pano Koufonisi the sights are the Chora and its windmill. The Chora is the car-free old capital, a whitewashed Cycladic town on the hill behind the port, with lanes of shops, bars and tavernas. On the south-west side above the town stands a stone windmill dating from 1830, which worked until 1956 and is now a listed monument used as accommodation. Where to stay near these sights is covered in the Koufonisia hotels & villas guide.