Samothraki Rock Pools

Samothraki is a mountain that happens to be an island. Mount Fengari, its summit, is the highest point in the Aegean islands, and the streams coming off it have cut deep ravines full of what locals call vathres, plunge pools worn into smooth granite below small waterfalls. The Fonias ravine is the usual introduction: a bridge on the coast road, a shaded path through plane trees, and after about forty minutes the first large pool with a fall at its head. Beyond it the route gets harder and involves scrambling over wet rock. The water is snowmelt cold all summer and the pools stay in shadow for much of the day, which is either the appeal or the problem, depending on you.

What you actually see

• The first Fonias pool - a deep basin under a fall, reached on an easy shaded path.
• The upper vathres - a chain of smaller pools requiring scrambling and route-finding.
• The plane tree woods - dense shade along the streambeds, cool even in August.
• Mount Fengari - the peak above, the highest summit of any Aegean island.

When to go

June to September for water warm enough to swim in, which is a relative term here. Mornings are quieter but the ravines are in shadow; early afternoon gets some sun onto the pools. Avoid the ravines entirely after heavy rain, when levels rise fast. Ferries from Alexandroupoli are cancelled in strong wind and services thin outside summer.

Honest expectations

The rocks are polished and genuinely slippery, and sandals are useless; people are injured here every season. Past the first pool there is no maintained path, no signage and no phone signal in places. The water is cold enough to cut a swim short. Facilities on the island are basic, and the coast road is rough in sections.

Nearby

The Sanctuary of the Great Gods at Palaiopoli, the hot springs at Therma and the hill village of Chora.