by Roumyana Demireva

Created on: July 25, 2008   Last Updated: July 27, 2008

Ithaca or Ithaka is one of the seven Greek islands that forms the group of Ionian Islands which strung along the shores of Western Greece. The mountainous and arid island is famous for being full of verdant vegetation and forest, wonderful beaches and last but not least this is the island of the mythical Odysseus or Ulysses. Most of the visitors fall in love with the island at the moment they first see it.

Being most of all an island for relaxing and enjoying the natural beauty Ithaka has several amazing beaches. Among them the most famous are: Agios Ioannis, Dexa, Frikes and Polis. All of them offer smooth pebbles or fine light-colored sand mixed with trees coming down to the waters of the Ionian Sea. These beaches are not so crowded as other Greek beaches and because of that reason many tourists prefer to spend some time here. The whole scenery of Ithaka looks like a paradise.

Gidaki beach, for instance, which is not so famous is a wonderful isolated beach, a swimmer`s paradise with crystal turquoise water. The beach could be reached via a boat service from Vathy (the capital of the island) at 10:00 am and 11:00 am every day during the season and from Gidaki beach there are boats at 02:00pm and 03:00pm. There is also a lovely restaurant on the beach.

The capital of Ithaka is the town of Vathy which has been declared as a traditional and preserved settlement by the Greek Law in 1978. This is also the largest town and the main harbor of the island since 16th century.

Another famous picturesque settlement which is only 25 km far from the capital of the island is Kioni. Why is it so interesting?! Because it was built amphitheatrically on the slopes of the mountain. The houses here are very pretty. The port which is little but lovely is the place where one can find the fishermen and their boats. Today here is the paradise for tourists because Kooni is a modern tourist resort with many cafes, taverns, food stores, private rooms. Every day here stop many yachts.

The island`s main tourist attraction is the Cave of Nymphs. According to the legend this is the cave where Ulysses hid his treasure on his return from the Phaecians. Many history lovers come here to visit this cave but there are also people who like stories and they also come here and take some pictures.

Ithaca is rich in historical and archaeological finds dating back to the Mycenaean Age (1500-1100 BC). One can visit the Museums like: Archaeological Museum of Vathy, the Archaeological Collection of Stavros, the Folklore and Cultural Museum, the Cultural Center of Ithaka, the National Museum of Ithaka. There are also some churches and monasteries worth visiting: the Church of the Saviour, the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin and the Church of Agia Varvara, the monastery of Taxiarches, the monastery of Kathariotisso and the monastery of Saint Nicolas.

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