Tsambika

Tsambika beach runs for about eight hundred metres of fine golden sand on the east coast of Rhodes, backed by a headland and shelving gently into water that warms early in the season, which makes it one of the island's most popular family beaches. Above it, on a rock rising three hundred metres, sits the monastery of Panagia Tsambika, reached by a stone stairway of roughly three hundred steps. The icon there has a reputation for helping women conceive, and the tradition is that those who climb the steps barefoot and are granted a child name it Tsambikos or Tsambika, names found almost exclusively on Rhodes. From the top the view runs along the coast over the beach and Kolymbia.

The landscape

• The long sand beach - eight hundred metres of fine golden sand.
• The stairway - about three hundred stone steps up the rock.
• The monastery - a small clifftop church with its pilgrimage icon.
• The coastal panorama - the beach and east coast seen from the summit.

When to go

May to October for swimming; the beach warms earlier than most on the island. Climb the steps early or late, as the stair has no shade. The 8 September feast fills the monastery.

Good to know

The beach is organised end to end with sunbeds and gets crowded in July and August, with limited free sand. Parking fills by mid-morning. The stairway is steep and hard in heat, and the monastery is small once you arrive.

Nearby

Kolymbia and the Seven Springs lie north-west; Archangelos village and Stegna are further down the coast.