Kos

Kos is unusually flat for a Greek island, which makes it the most cycle-friendly in the country, with dedicated paths across the town and out along the coast. Hippocrates was born here around 460 BC, and the Asklepieion above the town, a sanctuary of healing arranged on three terraces with temples, baths and treatment rooms, is the island's principal ancient site; in the town itself are the Roman odeon, the Casa Romana with mosaics, the ancient agora and the Knights' castle guarding the harbour. Beaches run for kilometres along the south and east: Paradise with volcanic bubbles rising through the sand, Tigaki, Kardamena, Agios Stefanos beside a ruined basilica. Inland, the villages of Zia and Asfendiou sit on Mount Dikeos with views to Turkey.

History

In the Iliad a contingent of Koans fought for the Greeks at Troy, and in myth the island's founder-king was Merops, giving "Meropian Kos" a place in the archaic Delian league named in the Homeric hymn to Apollo; Kos was also said to be the birthplace of Leto. The island was supposedly colonised by the Carians, but the Dorians took it in the 11th century BC with settlers from Epidaurus, whose cult of Asclepius made its sanatoria famous, and it belonged to the Doric Hexapolis with Lindos, Kamiros, Ialysos, Knidos and Halicarnassus; at the end of the 6th century it fell under Persian rule (Wikipedia, Kos).

Highlights

• The Asklepieion - a terraced healing sanctuary above the town.
• The Knights' castle - the fortress guarding the harbour entrance.
• The cycle network - flat paths across the town and along the coast.
• The mountain villages - Zia and Asfendiou on the slopes of Dikeos.

When to go

May, June and September for warm sea and quieter beaches; July and August fill with package visitors from northern Europe. Winter is very quiet, with most resorts closed.

Before you go

Kos is heavily developed for mass tourism along parts of its coast, and Kardamena in particular is a nightlife resort. Earthquake damage from 2017 affected some monuments in the town, and restoration continues. The famous plane tree of Hippocrates is far younger than the legend claims.

Nearby

Kalymnos and Nisyros are short ferry hops; Bodrum in Turkey is visible across the strait.

Key facts