Antiparos Cave

The cave descends about a hundred metres into the hill of Agios Ioannis, entered past a chapel and down some four hundred concrete steps that follow the natural shaft. Its formations are large and old, including a stalagmite claimed as one of the oldest in Europe at around 45 million years, and its walls carry graffiti from an extraordinary range of visitors: ancient Greek inscriptions, including one said to be by Archilochus, names cut by eighteenth-century travellers, and by Lord Byron. In 1673 the French ambassador to the Ottoman court, the Marquis de Nointel, held a Christmas mass inside with hundreds of guests, using a great stalagmite as an altar. The temperature is cool and the humidity high, and the view from the entrance terrace over the Cyclades is superb.

What you actually see

• The great chamber - a deep cavern of large old formations.
• The historic graffiti - inscriptions from antiquity to the nineteenth century.
• The altar stalagmite - the formation used for the 1673 Christmas mass.
• The entrance terrace - Cycladic views from the chapel outside.

When to go

May to October, when the site is open and the ferries from Paros run frequently; opening is reduced or suspended in winter. Mornings are cooler for the walk back up.

Honest expectations

Four hundred steps down and the same back up make this unsuitable for limited mobility or anyone with knee trouble. Lighting is basic and the steps are damp. Getting there needs the ferry from Paros plus transport across Antiparos.

Nearby

Antiparos town and its beaches are north; Paros is a ten-minute ferry away.