Tilos

The island of Tilo is geographically positioned between the islands of Nisyros and Calchi (Halki). It is a small and isolated island, explored by campers and people looking for peace and quiet.

Tilo has two main localities: Megalo Chorio, the capital of the island, built on the slopes of a mountain, and Livadia, the main port as well as the main place where you can find most of the tourist facilities and services. The island also has other small ports such as Santo Stefano and Sant'Antonio, each with a small number of inhabitants.

According to mythology, the name of the island comes from Tilos, the youngest of the children of Alia and Apollo, who came to the island to look for herbs to cure his seriously ill mother. After his recovery, the young Tilos returned to the island and erected a sanctuary in honor of Apollo and Poseidon as thanks for the regained health of his mother.

The island still retains its fame for the presence of healing herbs.

During the medieval period Tilo was called Episkopi. The island was the birthplace of the poet Irinna, a contemporary of Sappho, who was inspired by the island's natural beauty, its perfume, its vegetation and its tranquillity. Through his poems he has handed down to us the atmosphere of the suggestive island of Tilo.

Findings from archaeological excavations testify that the island has been inhabited since the Neolithic period.

During the 2nd century BC. C. Tilo was dominated by the Romans and included in the Byzantine Empire. At the beginning of the fourteenth century d. C. the Knights of St. John conquered the island and built a castle in the town of Megalo Chorio to protect the island from pirate raids. The island was later conquered by the Turks and in the 20th century by the Italians. It became part of the Greek state in 1948, following the fate of many other islands of the Dodecanese archipelago.

In the 1950s the inhabitants of the island suffered an economic collapse and many of them moved to Rhodes, Athens and abroad. Those who remained on the island continued to carry out their activities in agriculture and fishing.

The island of Tilos is also known as the island of the seven medieval castles.

The tourist who comes to visit the island cannot fail to try its typical dishes such as the "Giaprakia” based on spiced meat; the "Koulourida", the typical homemade pasta; the "Hondros", made with buckwheat; the "Kabroumas", made with pork; the "Pouggakia", a traditional sweet filled with almonds and sesame seeds.

To visit the island you can use the local buses that travel the roads that connect the port of Livadia to Megalo Chorio, the capital of the island, and to Eristos beach, the best known beach of Tilo.

Tilo

The island of Tilos is connected by ferry to the port of Piraeus. The journey time is approximately 17 hours. It is also possible to reach the island from the islands of Rhodes and Kos, where the closest airports are located.

Tilos is also well connected by ferry to the nearby Aegean Islands.

Tilo

On the island there are several suggestive places to visit.

Livadia

With about 300 inhabitants, it is the main port of Tilo and is located about 7 km east of the capital, Megalo Chorio. It extends along a bay and has houses built according to the traditional and typical architecture of the Dodecanese. The territory is characterized by barren mountains that stand out in stark contrast to the pretty white houses of Livadia.

Mikro Chorio

It is located along the road that connects Livadia to Megalo Chorio, 8 km south of the latter, is rather in ruins and currently no longer inhabited. The village was in fact gradually abandoned during the 1950s, when its inhabitants moved to the locality of Livadia. An evocative element of the place is the church, white, with its high bell tower, which overlooks the valley and the sea.

St. Panteleimon Monastery

It is the most important church on the island of Tilo and is dedicated to the patron saint of the island. It is located 6 km NW of Megalo Chorio and dates back to 1470.

The Capital of Tilos Island

Megalo Chorio

Located in the northern part of the island, the capital has kept its traditional architecture intact. Its stone houses, small, white and with beautiful gardens, are built on the slopes of the hill of Santo Stefano, below the ancient city and the medieval castle that stands on the rocky hill.

To be seen

Medieval castle

Located on a hill overlooking the capital, it was built by the Knights of St. John in the fifteenth century in a truly strategic position from which it was, and still is, possible to control the areas of Eristos and Sant'Antonio as well as the nearby island of Nisiros .

Inside the Castle, the remains of some buildings have been found.

Charkadio cave

It is located 2 km south of the capital and, inside, fossils of dwarf elephants dating back to the paleontological period have been found. Near the cave there is an open-air theater where, during the summer, various events and theatrical performances are organised.

Museums

Archaeological Collection

It exhibits pieces of classical vases, small statues, ancient inscriptions and sculptures dating back to the classical and Hellenistic periods. The various finds come from excavations carried out on the island and mainly in the locality of Lakia, near Megalo Chorio.

Paleontological Collection

The very interesting Collection includes finds from archaeological excavations carried out in the Charkadio Cave, located in the center of the island, where pieces of ancient pottery, Neolithic tools and fossils of dwarf elephants have been found. The collection also includes drawings and photographs of the excavations carried out in 1970 by Nikolaos Symeonides, professor of geology.

Tilo

Beaches

They are well known for their clean waters and very picturesque environment. Many of them have no facilities, except Livadia beach, organized with umbrellas and sunbeds.

Livadia beach

It is the most popular beach on the island. Its notoriety is also due to its proximity to the main port of the island. It is also the only organized beach in Tilo. Being one of the most touristic beaches, it has hotels and taverns nearby.

Eristos beach

It is a long and sandy beach. It has no tourist facilities and is ideal for total tranquillity.

Plaka beach

It is not a very busy beach, even in the high season, and this makes it the ideal place for those who want to enjoy a bit of tranquillity. There are no tourist facilities and it is advisable to organize yourself well with anything you might need.

You get to the beach along the main road that leads from Megalo Chorio to the Monastery of San Panteleimon.

Sant'Antonio beach

It is located about 2 km away from Megalo Chorio, along the road that leads to the Monastery of San Panteleimon. It has a beach of pebbles and sand and the presence of bushes. It has no tourist facilities, despite its proximity to the fishing village of Sant'Antonio.

Fun

Since Tilo is a small island with about 500 permanent people, the nightlife is not as lively as in the larger islands and which experience a stronger tourist development. More than anything, those who come to the island do so to explore its territory, its evocative places, to let themselves be enraptured by the splendid panoramas and characteristic glimpses, to experience the beauty of its calm and tranquillity.

On July 27, San Panteleimon, the patron saint of Tilo, is celebrated, and the festival is considered the most important on the island and takes place in the Monastery of San Panteleimon. The festivities include traditional food, music and dance and all the locals participate.