Location: In the Southern Cyclades.
Identity card: It has the shape of a crescent moon, an area of 76 km², a coastal perimeter of 70 km, and a population of approximately 7,000 inhabitants. County town: Thira . Main port: Athinios .
Characteristics: Santorini has no connection with the other Cyclades islands . It is a volcanic island located at the hinge of two tectonic plates. Her History, since prehistoric times, has been punctuated by disasters, eruptions, earthquakes… Like that of 1500 BC when half of the island collapsed when the crater of the volcano sank into the sea leaving a bay to its place: it is the “ Caldera ”, with dark blue waters, which reaches 400 meters deep and measures 11 km long and 7 km wide. The walls ofthis crater overhangs the sea from a height of 200 to 400 meters. During successive irruptions, the island was dismantled into five pieces. Thus the islets of Thera , Thiranissia and Aspronissia , which are part of the original island, form a disjointed ring around the bay, while in the center of the harbor rise the islets of Palea and Nea Kameni resulting from irruptions subsequent ones. No harmony in Santorini . But rather a torn, jagged landscape. The shapes and colors are harsh: masses of black, brown and red earth, which stand almost inlead above the sea… To the West, the cliffs form a rampart and offer the visitor an exemplary geological composition where pumice stone, slag, ash, kaolin are alternately superimposed… To the East, the slopes descend gently. towards the black lava beaches. They have been shaped by the hand of man: the stone walls cut out terraces, following the slightest fold of the land. Today they are mostly delivered towild grasses and the majority of farmers supplement their income with tourism. Fresh water is a rare commodity in Santorini , and this explains the scarcity of trees… As a result, the composition of the soil, the lack of building materials and especially the difficulty of transporting them explain the particular architecture of the island: troglodyte houses dug into the rocks. In the villages of Santorini there are no straight lines, no symmetry, but instead an overabundance of curved lines.
Strong points: Santorini , island of grandeur, is one of the “must”. You must have seen it. With Mykonos , anotherAn unmissable island, it is the obligatory stopover for cruise ships and the most visited island in the Cyclades… It’s very simple, it looks like it was invented expressly for kodachrome, it’s so out of the ordinary. Strong sensations, pronounced contrasts, distinct colors, white houses half buried in the rock, chapels with domed roofs… All these elements give Santorini a real feeling of eternity.
Activities and Excursions:
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To help you find your way around the island, we have indicated in ORANGE the places where you can stay.
