With its wild, cinematic beauty, imposing mountains, stunning beaches with crystalline waters and dreamy vistas over the Aegean, Karpathos is a destination that leaves no visitor unmoved. The lesser-known, second-largest island in the Dodecanese, reachable via a 28- hour ferry ride from Athens and only a handful of international destinations by air, is a narrow strip of land with a series of tall mountains running through it, and small, picturesque villages “perched” on their ridges.
The traditional way of life reigns supreme across the island, (especially in characteristic Olympos village, where women continue to wear traditional clothing and speak in the old dialect) and the Karpathians continue to produce their own food, like cheese and pasta, rear animals and to grow produce on their land.
In 2022 National Geographic dedicated a feature to Karpathos describing its sense of remoteness and pure authenticity but also noting how things are changing as tourists begin to discover it. In 2019, the island welcomed around 190,000 visitors; most of them seeking an escape from tourist traps like Santorini and Mykonos, or even neighbouring Rhodes, to meet “real” islanders, taste food based on age-old recipes and enjoy the sparkling beaches and activities such as trekking, windsurfing, bird watching. In response, the island has launched some ecological initiatives that are putting it on the world map as an eco-destination.
