DESPOTIKO

This Natura 2000 protected island is home to the underwater cave of Epitafio with its incredible rock formations and the cave where, if you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a Mediterranean seal.

You can visit the remains of the ancient city of Presepinthos and a Doric temple where excavations continue to this day. The layout of the city and the main sanctuary can be seen from the surrounding hills. The vast sanctuary was active from the ^7th century B.C. until the Roman period, and was dedicated to the cult of Apollo.

The remains of a cemetery dating back to the Cycladic civilization (Bronze Age) have also been excavated on the islet and presuppose a very early human presence on these lands. The islet and the city are believed to have been abandoned during the Middle Ages, but no further details or explanations are available at present. It's a touching and wonderful experience to wander freely through these ruins and remains. There are few archaeological sites of this scale that can still be accessed in this way, and it's worth making the most of them as long as the flood of tourists doesn't endanger the works and the work of the archaeologists.

In addition to the island's ancient ruins and heritage history, Despotiko is renowned for its emerald beaches of unrivalled clarity. Livadi beach is the best known, and with good reason: its silvery sand gently slopes into crystal-clear waters.