The Greek islands are the tips of a drowned mountain range: the peaks of a landmass that sank beneath the Aegean Sea between 5 and 10 million years ago, leaving only the highest ridges above the water, 6,000 islands and islets, 227 inhabited, scattered across the sea like the pieces of a broken plate. The geology is the beauty: the limestone cliffs of the Cyclades (the white of the villages, the blue of the domes, and the light that is so intense it seems to bleach the colour from the air), the volcanic caldera of Santorini (the most dramatic geological feature in the Mediterranean, the cliff that rises 300 metres from the sea, the black and red beaches, and the sense of living on the rim of a volcano that erupted in 1600 BC, destroying the Minoan civilisation and creating the legend of Atlantis), and the green islands of the Ionian (Corfu, Kefalonia, and Zakynthos, the olive groves, the cypresses, and the rainfall that turns the islands the colour of Ireland rather than the Aegean). The natural beauty of the Greek islands is not a single landscape but 6,000 variations on the theme of the sea, the rock, and the sky, and the best islands are the ones that reward the travellers who look beyond the beach.

Natural Wonders of the Greek Islands

• The Caldera of Santorini, the drowned volcano: Santorini is the most famous of the Greek islands, and the caldera, the crescent-shaped bay that is the flooded crater of the volcano, is the most famous view in Greece: the white villages of Fira and Oia clinging to the cliff, the blue domes of the churches, and the sunset that draws the crowds to the castle of Oia every evening of the summer. The view is the postcard; the geology is the story. The caldera was formed by the Minoan eruption of 1600 BC, one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history (the VEI 7 eruption, the equivalent of 100 atomic bombs, the ash falling on Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean, and the tsunami that devastated the coast of Crete), and the island is still active: the Nea Kameni, the volcanic island in the centre of the caldera, the boat trips, the walk to the crater, and the hot springs of the Palea Kameni (the sulphur water, the rusty stain on your swimming costume, and the most unusual swim in the Aegean). The essential walk: the path from Fira to Oia (10 km, 2–3 hours, the caldera on one side, the sea on the other, and the villages of Firostefani and Imerovigli. The most beautiful walk in the Cyclades). More Greece →
• The beaches of Zakynthos, the Shipwreck and the turtles: Navagio Beach, the Shipwreck, is the most photographed beach in Greece: the cove, the white sand, the turquoise water, and the rusting hulk of the MV Panagiotis (the smuggler’s ship that ran aground in 1980, the contraband cigarettes, the crew who escaped, and the most famous shipwreck in Europe). The beach is accessible only by boat (the boat trips from Porto Vromi, the Agios Nikolaos harbour, and the beach, the 1-hour stop, the photograph, and the swim. ~€25), and the view from the cliffs above (the viewing platform at the top of the cliff, the Navagio Beach viewpoint, the most famous photograph in the Ionian. Free, and the crowds are at their worst in the midday sun. Go early, before 9am, or at sunset, the light is better, the crowds are thinner, and the view is the same). The turtles: the Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta) nests on the beaches of Laganas Bay, the largest nesting population in the Mediterranean, and the National Marine Park of Zakynthos protects the nests. The turtle-spotting boat trips (the glass-bottom boats, the turtles, the dolphins, and the caves of the Keri peninsula. ~€25, and the essential Zakynthos wildlife experience)
• The Samaria Gorge of Crete, the longest gorge in Europe: (see the Chania post, batch 46, for the full guide). The shorter version: the Samaria Gorge is the essential natural experience of the Greek islands, the 16 km walk through the White Mountains, the cliffs, the kri-kri goats, the Iron Gates (the narrowest point, the walls rising 300 metres, the sense of walking through a crack in the Earth), and the swim at Agia Roumeli at the end, the Libyan Sea, the salt, and the most satisfying swim in Greece. The gorge is open from May to October, the walk takes 4–7 hours, and the early bus from Chania (5am) is the essential transportation. Entry: ~€5