Koufonisia

Ano Koufonisi covers less than four square kilometres and holds the whole population, a village of white houses around a harbour with a beach at either end; Kato Koufonisi, across a two-hundred-metre channel, has one seasonal taverna, a chapel and nothing else. The appeal is water: the north coast of the inhabited island is a chain of beaches, Finikas, Fanos, Platia Pounta, linked by a coastal path of about an hour, where the sea over white sand reads pale turquoise and stays shallow far out. At Pori the shore is undercut into a collapsed sea cave known as the Devil's Eye, a natural pool open to the sea. The islands became fashionable in the 2010s and now fill in August, but out of season they remain what they were, a fishing community with very little else.

History

The name may come from Koufos Limin, "sheltered harbour", the ancient name of the gulf between Koufonisia and Glaronisi. Excavations at Epano Mili show the islands were inhabited from the first years of Cycladic civilisation, with finds including a "frying pan" vessel decorated with a nine-rayed star, now in the Naxos museum, and in later centuries the islands shared the fate of the rest of the Cyclades under the Venetians and the Ottomans (Wikipedia, Koufonisia).

What you'll find

• The north coast path - an hour's walk linking beach after beach.
• The Devil's Eye - a collapsed sea cave forming a natural pool at Pori.
• Kato Koufonisi - the near-empty second island across the channel.
• The harbour village - white houses and fishing boats around the port.

When to go

May, June and September for the water without the crowds; in August the small beaches fill and rooms are booked months ahead at high prices. Winter is very quiet with few sailings.

Good to know

There is almost nothing to do beyond swimming and walking, no cars to speak of, and limited shops. Accommodation is small-scale and expensive in season. Ferry connections run mostly through Naxos.

Nearby

Schinoussa, Iraklia and Donousa complete the Small Cyclades; Naxos and Amorgos are the larger neighbours.

Key facts