Tilos Villa

Tilos is a small island of Dodecanese, midway between Rhodes and Kos, in the southern Aegean Sea. It has more than 300 sunny days per year, with blue sky and breathtaking colors of the sea and the coast during all seasons. The sea water offers comfortable baths from june to november (or may to december... the water comfort concept is a bit subjective!), but winter and early spring can be in any case a good period for visiting the island, especially if walking or trekking is your passion.

Tilos is still an unspoiled island, even from touristic point of view. It has a sinuous coast, with many bays and it offers so many beatiful beaches that it is difficult to see all of them in the same vacation, also because not all are easily accessible. The complexity of the coast - with rocks, beaches, caves, cliffs, bays - proceeds also underwater making swimming and snorkeling very interesting, with the possibility, for the luckiest, to meet the rare monk seal, being Tilos one of the last islands of the world to host a monk seal colony. Tilos is also ideal for kayaking, and it offers some beaches that can be reached only by the sea.

The interior has the same complexity due to mountainous lansdcape, rocky hills and many breathtaking panoramic views that make Tilos unique also for walking and trekking, because every few minutes walking, the view changes completely. The main paths are safe and well marked, but other are barely indicated and are only for the more adventurous.

The island is inhabited by four hundred people today, in three villages: an old traditional elevated "chora", Megálo Chorió, the port village, Livadia, and a small coastal village, Agios Antonios. In the past however there were 7 villages and thousands of people. The ruins of the old villages are another attraction for trekkers, but at least the ruins of Gherá and Mikro Chorió, that are easily accessible, should not be missed by any visitor for their unique atmosphere and their view on the Aegean Sea. Other attractions are the castle of Megálo Chorió, the castle of Mesarià, and the Monastery of Agios Pandeleímon.

The whole island is a natural reserve protected by law, so it is almost completely wide. However, some small cultivations remain, enough to guarantee healty food for locals and visitors. Tilos is fertile and it has many springs; the spontaneous vegetation is mainly composed of bushes or small trees, but almost 700 species of spontaneous plants have been counted, an impressive variety for a small island. Tilos in fact is also famous for medicinal herbs, mentioned also in its mythology.

Tilos is the last place in Europe where wild elephants lived, in the late neolithic age. A local museum hosts large assembly of the bones of dwarf elephants. Also the Kharkhadió cave where the elephants were found can be visited, near the museum.

It is worthy to mention that, being the whole Tilos a natural reserve and hunting banned since decades, it is also a stage for migratory birds, so spring and autumn are seasons for birdwatchers. May is said to be the month when more species can be seen, with more than 150 species of resident and migratory birds.

The island is about 14.5 km long, north-west to south-east, with an average width of approx 3 km. So, it is not so big to make a car or motorcycle necessary, but also not so small to be visited completely only walking. In any case cars for rent are available in the island, and there is also a bus service that connect the villages and the beach of Eristos.

Tilos is said to be "the green island" because it has been the first Mediterranean island in 2019 to become completely self sufficient with fully renewable electricity with solar power and wind turbines.