Nisyros is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea and is one of the Dodecanese islands. It belongs to the group of ancient Southern Sporades and is situated northwest of Rhodes, between Kos, Tilos, and Astypalea. Specifically, it is 8 nautical miles northwest of Tilos, 10 nautical miles south of Kos, to which it is administratively affiliated, and 9 nautical miles west of the Datca Peninsula in Turkey. Nisyros covers an area of approximately 41 square kilometers, with a total coastline length of about 24 kilometers.
Due to its volcanic nature, unique geological features, and rich culture, Nisyros offers various activities that go beyond mass tourism. Nisyros is an ideal destination for alternative forms of tourism, including conferences, religious tourism, spa tourism, hiking, diving, gastronomy, and more.
Conference Tourism
Nisyros, with its distinctive natural beauty, including the volcano, the Old Castle, monasteries, and chapels, and its scientific significance across various fields (volcanology, geology, seismology, energy, geothermal activity, ecology, archaeology, etc.), can be an important conference destination.
Today, Nisyros can host conferences for up to 200 participants in municipal buildings adapted for this purpose. Furthermore, the construction of a state-of-the-art conference center and multipurpose venue capable of hosting large conferences, exhibitions, and cultural events is a priority for the Municipal Authority.
Religious Tourism
Throughout its long history, Nisyros has been a place of strong spirituality and religious significance. This is evidenced by the numerous places of worship, including the remains of ancient temples, countless Byzantine and post-Byzantine churches, and the humble chapels scattered throughout the countryside.
The variety and beauty of religious sentiment expressed on our island over the centuries are astonishing. The religious monuments and sacred memories of Nisyros are connected to the search for a different way of life based on authentic traditional values.
These monuments are not merely museum pieces or lifeless information transmitters. Instead, they are a profound presence in the cultural tradition of the island, a deposit of soul, hope, and renewal. Therefore, these monuments can still inspire and give a different meaning to life for the island's visitors today.
Spa Tourism
The abundant hot springs are another unique feature of Nisyros. Warm water emerges at various points along the island's coastline at temperatures ranging from 30 to 61 degrees Celsius. This results from the mixing of seawater with geothermal fluids from deeper underground.
These warm and lighter fluids manage to reach close to the surface by following the major faults and fractures in the area. The most famous hot springs are those of Loutra, located 1500 meters north of Mandraki, and Therma, next to the chapel of Panagia Thermaiani, in the northern part of the village of Paloi. Both are classified as "hydrothermally altered non-volcanic rocks.
Diving Tourism
The seabed of Nisyros is one of the few places in the world where one can dive in an active volcano and swim among bubbles emerging from the Earth's depths. The excellent visibility, which can reach up to 40 meters, is ideal for enjoying the mesmerizing volcanic landscapes beneath the sea's surface. Submarine rifts, caves, and craters await exploration through both autonomous and free diving. The exceptional marine biodiversity can also provide surprises and emotions. In Nisyros' seabed, you can see vast meadows of Posidonia seagrass, schools of Mediterranean barracudas, groupers, octopuses, hermit crabs, colorful nudibranchs, scorpionfish, and virtually any other marine species found in the Mediterranean.
Even if you are just passing through the island or staying for a short time, or even if you are on a neighboring island with a ferry connection to Nisyros, you must visit the volcano. How many times will you have the opportunity to walk on an active volcano? Very few. The Stefanos crater, one of the five existing craters, is visitable, and you can easily approach and walk around it. The experience begins before you even reach the crater, in the Lakki Plateau area, along the path that crosses a large part of the island's interior.
On one side, the yellowish slopes of the craters rise, and on the other side is the caldera with Nikia at its peak. The scene appears to be taken from a science fiction movie. As you step out of your car, you'll feel a significant amount of heat and the smell of gases escaping from the countless cracks. The geological formations of millennia are impressive. As you get closer to the Stefanos crater, with your own responsibility, you'll feel the temperature rising. The landscape is beautiful in a unique way, and the sensation it creates is peculiar, perhaps because you are not walking on ordinary soil and rocks but on an active volcano.
Hochlakoi is the closest beach to Mandraki. Its characteristic feature is the black and smooth pebbles that gave it its name.
In the village of Paloi, you will find the beach of the same name with sand and tamarisk trees. About 3 kilometers after Paloi, on the northeastern side of the island, you will find Lyes. The beach is over 1 kilometer long and has a few pebbles, but its characteristic feature is the dark-colored sand.
From Lyes, a relatively challenging path leads to Pachia Ammos: this beach is considered the most beautiful on the island. There are also very beautiful beaches on the small island of Agios Antonios next to Gyali, as well as on Gyali itself.
Sign up to see offer prices the moment you sign up!
English
Ελληνικά