Karpathos may not be among the most popular tourist destinations in Greece, but it should be… The island has landscapes sculpted by the wild winds, villages nestled in mountains, customs preserved unchanged over time, ancient states, impressive caves and exceptional – and award-winning beaches. This is the fascinating Karpathos, the second largest island of the Dodecanese.

It is, on the one hand, its rocky and strongly embossed aspect – its highest mountain peaks reach 1220 meters – and on the other hand, its long history and its alive tradition, which give unique experiences to the visitor.

The dazzling Olympus is one of the most impressive settlements of the island, which seems to be acrobating between two hills. Its history reaches the 9th century.

However, it is not the only place where the island’s great past is vividly reflected in the present. Karpathos has many attractions that take the visitor on a journey through its history: the ruins of the ancient city of Vrykuntos and Arkesia, the Castle and the ancient acropolis of Aperio, the old capital of the island, but also early Christian churches, the Roman tank at Lefko, chambered tombs in the town of Karpathos and Arkasa and the scattered traditional windmills.

The tradition of Karpathos is alive and well in its customs, which seem to travel unchanged through time. Women who still wear their traditional costumes and festivals with lyres and tsambouns that carry their past from generation to generation further intrigue the traveler – if he has not already succumbed to the wild beauty of this place.

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