Sea travel, since ancient times, has an intact bonding with lighthouses. Their purpose is to guide and keep safe sailors during sea storms and night. Lighthouses are a part of the Greek nautical tradition and therefore have a huge importance for all islands, including Kythnos. Especially in the Cyclades where the stormy weather, the wild coastline and the small proximity of islands and islets often led seamen to the depths of the sea.
Stone lighthouses standing on the rocks of the windswept capes of the Greek coastline have their own charm. In Kythnos island there are four lighthouses. You can find then south in the cape of Aghios Dimitrios, West at Merichas cape, north at Kefalos cape and northeast in the inlet of Aghia Irini.
The stone lighthouse at Merichas cape has a supreme location overseeing the whole Merichas bay. To access it you need to follow the road from Merichas to Episkopi. Before you enter Episkopi you will see a dirt road on your left, on a big curve of the road. You follow it, preferably on food as it turns to a narrow path afterwards. It is a short walk around 250 – 300 meters. The Merichas Lighthouse is something you shouldn’t miss.
On the most northern part of Kythnos stands the lighthouse of Kefalos or Kafalos. It is placed on elevated rocks, as the coastline here ends abruptly, offering a view towards the islands of Kea, Syros and Gyaros. To visit it you must follow the road that stretches north from Loutra until its end and then for 200 meters you need to make your way in a northwest direction. Definitely worth visiting.
Lighthouses are one of the paramount symbols of Greek marine life and as such concentrate on the values and features that people have been displaying in sea for centuries. The charm of exploration, the danger of travel, the call of land and home and the need for fixed points to mark their route.
join.booking.com
