Nisyros Volcano Caldera

Nisyros is a small island that is essentially one volcano, and the middle of it has collapsed into a caldera floored with pale ash and clay. A short path from the parking area drops onto the floor of the Stefanos crater, a bare bowl a few hundred metres across where the ground is warm, sulphur crusts the vents in yellow, and steam hisses out of holes in the rock. It smells accordingly. On the rim above sits Nikia, a whitewashed village around an oval paved square, with the whole caldera below it. The port at Mandraki is on the far side, under a cliff monastery, and day boats from Kos deliver most visitors straight into a waiting bus.

What you actually see

• The Stefanos crater floor - warm bare ground, sulphur vents and steam at close range.
• Nikia village - a rim settlement with an oval mosaic square and a view straight down into the caldera.
• Mandraki - the port town, narrow lanes under a cliff with a monastery built into it.
• The rim road - viewpoints over the whole collapsed centre of the island.

When to go

Spring and autumn are far better than summer, because the crater floor is a treeless bowl that traps heat and midday there is punishing. Day boats from Kos run mainly in season and give you a fixed few hours, most of it at the caldera. Independent ferries let you stay overnight, which is the only way to see the island quietly.

Honest expectations

The sulphur smell is strong and some people find it hard going. The ground near vents is genuinely hot and the crust can be thin, so straying off the marked route is a bad idea. Day trips are rushed, with roughly two hours split between crater and village. If you expect lava you will be disappointed; this is steam, mineral crust and bare rock.

Nearby

Kos, the small islet of Gyali and the other Dodecanese ports served from Mandraki.