In brief
Sponge-fishers & fishermen island. The main port of Pothia is lined with cafes and as home to Greece's sponge fishing fleet is a working town. There is a sponge museum there too. There are resort beaches around the island and several other small ports and towns worth visiting. It is also a popular island for rock climbing.
Sponge-fishers & fishermen island. The main port of Pothia is lined with cafes and as home to Greece's sponge fishing fleet is a working town. There is a sponge museum there too. There are resort beaches around the island and several other small ports and towns worth visiting. It is also a popular island for rock climbing.
General Information
The terrain of this fourth largest of the Dodecanese is mountainous, except for two fertile valleys. It is along these valleys that its biggest villages have sprouted – Kalymnos or Pothia and Vathi.
Castles, remnants of fortresses, archeological findings, and old churches bear witness to the continuous importance of Kalymnos in the history of the Aegean. Its natural attractions – caves, lovely beaches, unspoilt scenery – make it a mini earthly paradise.
Kalymnos is widely known as the sponge-fishers’ island, since such a large portion of the population is engaged in this age-old occupation.
Once the island’s capital was located at Horio, which benefited from the protection offered by the castle of the Knights of St. John just above it.
Today’s capital is Pothia or Kalymnos, founded around 1850 by the inhabitants of Horio.
Its brightly coloured houses surround the port like the seats in an amphitheatre, arranged along the hillsides down to the caiques and fishing boats bobbing below. An old church dedicated to Christ the Saviour adorns the waterfront. It is decorated with frescoes and valuable icons, while its iconostasis is the work of the well-known sculptor, Yiannoulis Halepas.
Kalymnos has other charming villages, like Vathi, set in a fertile valley full of citrus trees, and Metohi, on the southeast side of the island. The quiet hamlet of Emborios lies to the north. To the west you will find the villages Massouri, Mirties, Kamari and Panormos.
On the road to Panormos, you will notice the remains of a three-aisled basilica dedicated to Christ of Jerusalem, which was erected around the 6th century on the site of an ancient temple where Delian Apollo was worshipped.
To the north of the main town is Perl Kastro, also called the Castle of the Golden Hands (Hrissohera), because the chapel in its interior has an icon of the Virgin whose hands are covered with gold leaf. Northeast of Pothia, at the foot of Flaska hill, is the cave of the Seven Virgins or Nymphs (not to be visited).
Today’s capital is Pothia or Kalymnos, founded around 1850 by the inhabitants of Horio.
Its brightly coloured houses surround the port like the seats in an amphitheatre, arranged along the hillsides down to the caiques and fishing boats bobbing below. An old church dedicated to Christ the Saviour adorns the waterfront. It is decorated with frescoes and valuable icons, while its iconostasis is the work of the well-known sculptor, Yiannoulis Halepas.
Kalymnos has other charming villages, like Vathi, set in a fertile valley full of citrus trees, and Metohi, on the southeast side of the island. The quiet hamlet of Emborios lies to the north. To the west you will find the villages Massouri, Mirties, Kamari and Panormos.
On the road to Panormos, you will notice the remains of a three-aisled basilica dedicated to Christ of Jerusalem, which was erected around the 6th century on the site of an ancient temple where Delian Apollo was worshipped.
To the north of the main town is Perl Kastro, also called the Castle of the Golden Hands (Hrissohera), because the chapel in its interior has an icon of the Virgin whose hands are covered with gold leaf. Northeast of Pothia, at the foot of Flaska hill, is the cave of the Seven Virgins or Nymphs (not to be visited).
Kalymnos boasts two other caves, the richly decorated Skalies, about 100 metres from the village of Skalia in the north of the island (not to be visited), and Kefalas or Trypas Kefalas to the south (which can be visited and can only be approached by boat).
At Therma, only 1 km or so from Pothia, there are radioactive springs and therapeutic bathing installations, rooms where visitors may spend the night, and specially trained personnel to assist them.
Sightseeing
In the island's capital Pothia (Kalymnos) you'll find a nice museum about the island. There is also a beautiful church here dedicated to Christ. There is also a nunnery, Agios Savas, which is open to the public and is well worth a visit. There are also several sponge factories you can visit.
Horio is the old capital, and here you can visit the Castle of Golden Hands (Kastro Hrissoheras) where the Knights of St. John resided. There is also a citadel from the 9th cent. AD, Pera Kastro, and the remains of a church from the 5th century: "Jesus of Jerusalem".
Beaches
Among the lovely beaches on Kalymnos are Massouri, Mirties and Arginondas along the west coast and Vlyhadia in the south.
Things to taste & buy
You should taste seafood delicacies such as “fouskes” and “chtapokeftedes” (octopus
fried meatballs).
You should buy natural sponges. 
Useful Information
How to get there
How to get there
By air from Athens
Olympic Airways: +30 2103550500
By sea from Piraeus
Piraeus Port Authority: +30 2104226000-4, +30 2104114005
By sea from Piraeus
Piraeus Port Authority: +30 2104226000-4, +30 2104114005
Useful telephone numbers
Area Code: +30 22430
Municipal Office: 59141
Police: 22100
Port Authority: 29304, 24444
Olympic Airways: 59370 (airport)
Health Center: 23025
Health Center: 23025
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