Skyros Carnival

The Skyros carnival centres on three figures. The Geros, the old man, wears a goatskin cloak, a mask made from a young goat's hide, and a belt hung with up to thirty kilograms of bronze sheep bells, which he shakes with a violent twist of the hips so that the noise fills the streets. The Korela, played by a man in women's dress, dances beside him. The Frangos, the foreigner, wears a comic mask and carries a conch shell to blow. Groups roam the Chora for the four weekends before Lent, and the effect of dozens of bell-belts moving through narrow whitewashed lanes is overwhelming and genuinely strange. The rite is widely believed to descend from pre-Christian shepherd traditions, and the island takes part rather than performs.

What you actually see

• The Geros - masked men in goatskin with belts of heavy bronze bells.
• The Korela and Frangos - the accompanying dancer and the comic figure.
• The Chora lanes - the procession through narrow whitewashed streets.
• The gatherings - dancing, singing and satirical verse in the squares.

When to go

The four weekends before Clean Monday, with the final one the biggest; dates shift each year with Orthodox Easter. February weather can be wet and windy, and ferries occasionally cancel.

Honest expectations

This is a local rite, not a show: there is no programme, no seating and no fixed schedule, and much of the action is loud and crowded in tight lanes. Accommodation on the island is limited and books out for the final weekend.

Nearby

The Chora, castle and Skyros beaches are all within walking distance of the festivities.