Walk in Chora through its narrow alleyways and lanes and admire the old mansions. A representative old house has simple phasades, ornate carved doorframes and wonderful chimney stacks.

Kapsali, the fishing village, combines social life with a nice, organized sandy beach. The adjacent Sparagario beach is maybe the best choice to swim. It is a private, quite isolated beach with wonderful small stones. Access is through a passable dirt road.

The caretta caretta sea turtle has bee a permanent guest in Kapsali in the last many summers. Every morning two or three turtles were swimming along the quay, being fed by fishermen and tourists. In the summer 2013 two turtles laid their eggs in Kapsali's sandy beach.

Mylopotamos, a 16th century traditional village in the centre of the island, is a must to visit. Kato Chora, one of its districts, is a historical monument with a Venetian castle and fabulous natural beauty. Mylopotamos's central square is a picturesque spot, with a traditional coffeehouse and enormous eternal plane trees. The spectacular waterfall, "Fonissa” (the assassin), will challenge you to jump into the "refreshing” water tank.

If you wish a small mountaineering adventure (ca 1.5 hours), walk down the gorge; you will come across 23 water mills and several other waterfalls. Only one watermill, belonging to the Phlippi family, has been restored – an admirable work that pays respect to the older generations who spent their lives there working under harsh conditions.Adventurous canyonists may attempt to cross the entire canyon. The path – rocky and in some places difficult to cross – will leads to the beach of Kalami.

Most beaches are in the southern and eastern part of the island. They are easily accessible by car. In most beaches canteens offer cold plates, sandwiches and refreshments.

Some ideas: Kapsali and Sparagario underneath Chora, the dreamy Chalkos, Fyri Ammos and Cobonada in the east, Melidoni with its turqoise water in the southwest, the fishing villages Avlemonas with its striking port and Diakofti with the golden sand, Kaladi, featured in most Kythera posters and guides, Kakia Langada with its pale sand and impressive surrounding rocks, to name just few fascinating options.

The crystal seas offshore Kythera contain an exciting underwater world of reefs, caves and wrecks populated with fish, octopus, lobsters and squid. Artefacts range from the cannons of a pirate ship to the haunting wreck of the 8,800 dwt German freighter Norland which foundered in 2000.

The waters provide a paradise for divers of all levels of competence and our booking price includes a special offer for those wishing to take advantage of the Kythera Dive Centre at Kapsali. George Lampoglou, is Master Scuba Diver Trainer Instructor. He is a certified member of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) and a qualified Emergency First Response (EFR) trainer. The Dive Centre offers courses for beginners, juniors who want to improve their skills and qualified divers who want assisted dives.

Fun for the whole family

Discover Scuba Diving is an entry level course for children over the age of eight that teaches the fundamental knowledge and basic techniques to safely scuba dive in open water. We begin with a briefing, try some exercises in very shallow water and then we are ready to discover the wonderful underwater world, the incredible feeling of the underwater gravity loss and the buoyant swinging like an astronaut orbiting the earth. Children learn how to equalize, make signals, empty the water from their mask or the regulator and finally breathe underwater.

The Junior Open Water Diver program can transform a 10-year-old into a responsible, trained diver within just a few days of vacation fun. When you complete your training with a minimum of four open water dives, you will be free to explore the underwater world…and, you will have earned a PADI certificate – the most respected diver certification which is valid lifelong and all around the world.

Already certified divers thrill to the adventure of open water dives in settings that will expand your diving capabilities and experience. Perhaps you want to further your training with an Advanced Scuba Diver or Rescue Scuba Diver course. Or maybe you will opt for recreational dives for photography, fish identification, and wreck exploration.

Whatever your scuba diving plans, George is there! His Kythera Dive Center in Kapsali is just 2.5 km from Chora [George Lampoglou, tel: + 30 – 694-431-4152, info@kytheradive.gr, www.kytheradive.gr]. Come on and dive in.

Kastropolis guests staying for one week or longer receive incentive vouchers towards the rates.

Nantia and Rigas are islanders, passionately devoted to Kythera’s eco-system, its heritage and its culture. They have been active for years in trail restoration and construction and now are co-managing the development of an extensive trail network in Kythera as part of the sweeping Kythera Hiking, a project to sign-post about 250km of the old trails of Kythera.

Nantia has studied tourism in Greece and Spain and is qualified in canyoning. She has been working as a hiking guide on the trails of Kythera since 2013. Her pursuit of beekeeping has helped her gain extensive knowledge about the local flora and fauna as well as about traditional herbal remedies. Nantia speaks Greek, English and Spanish.

Rigas is an experienced trekker and an avid traveler, having visited more than 40 countries. He holds an MSc degree in organic agriculture from the Netherlands, has attended courses on alternative tourism, culinary tourism and intercultural/sustainable tour guiding and has worked as a cross-disciplinary researcher on food networks, agrobiodiversity conservation and innovation in rural areas. During his research as a UNESCO advisor for the islands of Kythera and Antikythera he had the opportunity to enrich his knowledge of the local agro-ecosystem, culture and gastronomy. Rigas speaks Greek, English and German.

Nantia and Rigas will be happy to recommend Kastropolis’s guests a variety of trekking tours, ranging from easy to demanding. They can produce their own suggestions or tailor-make tours according to your interests. Hikes explore traditional settlements, medieval castle towns, caves, waterfalls, gorges and remote beaches – some of the most stunning in Greece. Routes and other details may be found on www.kytherahiking.com but here is a sample to whet your interest.

Mylopotamos -- waterfalls: this circular route -- beginning and ending in the picturesque village of Mylopotanos -- takes about three hours and follows an old path alongside a creek with deserted watermills and arched stone bridges. The stream cascades through a heavily wooded gorge in a succession of waterfalls that tumble into turquoise lagoons where the hardy may be tempted to taking a “refreshing” swim.

Potamos – Palaiochora: this 3-hour route leads from Potamos village through beautiful gorges to Palaiochora, the derelict medieval castle-town that stands above the Kakia Lagkada gorge atop a 200 metre cliff. Palaiochora was the island’s capital up until the year 1537, when it was destroyed by Barbarossa, the much feared pirate.

The southern tour: adjustable to your walking mood; can range from a 1-3 hours walk around Chora and Kapsali, the fishing village, to a demanding 7-hours outing. You will escape from the tourist areas, walk along the southern coast to the Trachilas cape, pass through abandoned villages, visit caves, churches and monasteries, all with a backdrop of stunning sea views.

Kastropolis guests staying for one week or longer receive incentive vouchers towards the rates.

Nantia Megalokonomou: tel + 30 - 697 8494 802, nantiamegal@hotmail.com

Rigas Zafeiriou: tel + 30 - 694 7203 290, rigas.zafeiriou@gmail.com