Information about Folegandros

Folegandros is one of Greece's most enticing islands, bridging the gap between tourist traps and small, underpopulated islands on the brink of total abandonment. The number of visitors is increasing, but most locals still make a living from fishing and farming.

Tourists come in search of unspoilt island life and, except in July and August, the island is uncrowded and blissfull. The island has several good beaches - be prepared for strenuous walking to reach some of them - and a striking landscape of cultivated terraces that give way to precipitous cliffs.

The capital is the concealed cliff-top Hora, one of the prettiest capitals in the Cyclades with its medieval kastro filled with little houses draped in bourgainvillea.

Boats dock at the small harbor of Karavostasis, on the east coast, which is a convenient base from which to explore the island's beaches.

4 km to the north-west of Hora is Ano Meria - the farmers village. This settlement stretches for several kilometers because small farms surround most of the dwellings. Agriculture is still very much alive at this end of the island and you'll see haystacks, market gardens, goats and donkeys.

(from Loney Planet: "Greek Islands")