Chalki: Less Wind, More Chill
Sophia and her friend, the Greek islands’ answer to Mrs Brown and Winnie McGoogan, are sitting on the steps chatting, as they usually are, as we say our goodbyes and head off to the ferry port. “Always take your key”, she had told us when we arrived, “because I never know what time I sleep”. Such is island life.
After the Greece mainland, the large island of Crete, and the pleasant buzz of Karpathos, we are now looking for something more remote, more peaceful, so with our first glimpse of what lays before us as the ferry pulls into the tiny island of Chalki, the smallest inhabited island of the Dodecanese, we are delighted with what we see.
Chalki, also spelt Halki, has only 330 permanent residents, swelled by summer visitors and increased further during daylight hours by day trippers from Rhodes. The entire population lives in the port village Emborio, there are no other dwellings anywhere on the island, there’s just one dirt track road and a huge sense of tranquility. Once the madness of the ferry is over, peace descends quickly.
It’s therefore a real surprise to us that on our first evening here we hear more English voices than at any time on this whole trip; everywhere has been dominated by Greek holidaymakers and it’s been mentioned to us several times that British visitors are largely absent this summer. Yet ironically in this small corner, on an island with few facilities, no organised activities and just a single village, English voices are a little more commonplace.
The result is a mix. During what our host Caroline (English, ironically) calls the “day trip hours”, a few hundred extra bodies mill around Emborio and its beaches before returning to Rhodes late afternoon, leaving Chalki to those staying here to enjoy the evening. According to a Yorkshireman we meet up at the castle later, this small island does indeed have a certain English fanbase who regularly return, along with being a popular destination for Italians.
Emborio belltower 
Crystal waters 
Emborio clock tower
It’s a long hot climb up to the castle but absolutely worth the effort, not simply because the views back to the harbour village and across the sea are fabulous. For the last section of the climb, we pass through the remains of an ancient village which has traces of settlement from the 4th century BC. During the years of piracy, this chorio was Chalki’s only village, but was then deserted as piracy disappeared and the island population felt safe enough to move back to the coast at Emborio.
It’s fascinating to climb up through the remains of what must have been a seriously steep town.
The desertion of the hilltop village is actually not the most recent example of exodus here. In the mid 20th century the greater part of the population of Chalki emigrated and left the island almost uninhabited when most of its people departed en masse and headed to a small town in Florida, USA, where the Greek community apparently exists to this day.
Ancient town, Chalki 
Seat of Zeus 
Ancient town, Chalki 
Ancient town, Chalki
Chalki has a handful of small beaches close to Emborio, accessible on foot or by boat or, in the case of Pondamos, the very lazy can take a shuttle minibus the 400 yards or so from the village. The sea here is a delight: crystal clear and in places almost as warm as a thermal spring, even on the day when we get up early and take a refreshing swim at sunrise.
We will probably remember Chalki as being almost but not quite the classic peaceful Greek island, the shuttle ferries from Rhodes probably make it just a bit too easy to reach. A phrase you will often see on the web is that Chalki is “Greece’s best kept secret”. We think maybe someone’s started to let the cat out of the bag…
18 Comments
normareadtalktalknet
Beautiful photos as always 😍
Andrew Petcher
Now I so wish that I had taken that ferry from Rhodes.
Jyothi
What a great trip! Lovely captures!!
Lookoom
Nice capture of the atmosphere. Makes you want to spend a few days there, and watch those daytrippers with a dismissive eye!
grandmisadventures
I cant get over the picture of that stiking blue water-so incredible! And I love the line of octopus inticing visitors to come in and eat 🙂
Phil & Michaela
Always a sign of good seafood when you see fresh lobsters like that!
wetanddustyroads
Ahh, just beautiful! Lovely sunsets and those views over the amazing ocean from the top of the mountain … love it!
Phil & Michaela
Yes it was very beautiful- it’s a sunrise though, even though it looks like a sunset!
wetanddustyroads
Oops 🙃, but still beautiful!
Phil & Michaela
It was indeed – we got to the beach for 6.30am to have a swim under the sunrise. Magical.
Toonsarah
What a beautiful spot, and it looks tranquil despite the influx of English voices. I’m betting not many of them make it up to the castle! If you’d shown me that photo of the bell tower with mosaic pavements in front out of context I would have sworn you were in Portugal 😆
Phil & Michaela
Yeah the last bit of the climb to the castle was a thirsty slog! Interesting comment about similarity to Portugal, we hadn’t thought of that (but then Michaela hasn’t been to Portugal yet at all!)
leightontravels
What an utterly charming place, despite all the English voices ha ha. Some gorgeous shots, though for me the clock tower photograph takes top prize. The colour of the water… the stone paths… octopus for dinner. Take me there now! (No offence, Belgrade).
Gilda Baxter
Idyllic comes to mind…A room with a view and what a gorgeous view it is. I have never heard of this island, but sounds like it is not the secret that once was. Stunning photos!!
rkrontheroad
Despite the tourist voices, you have found a lovely spot in Chalki. The belltower and the crystal waters, both photos with something beautiful in the foreground, are my favorites of these photos.
Phil & Michaela
Thank you Ruth, these islands are very photogenic!
Annie Berger
Looks like you found another idyllic Greek isle to while away some time – beyond gorgeous photos of the sea, harbor, mosaics at the bell tower, Thanks for introducing us to another of Greece’s charms.
What has been the reaction from Greeks to having foreign tourists with the pandemic raging in so many places? Have you encountered any resistance or only welcome as they need the money tourists bring?
Phil & Michaela
Hi Annie. Absolutely no resistance of any kind; Greece is very much its normal laid back self and the atmosphere is delightful. Apart from masks in shops and on public transport and the occasional piece of paper to fill in, the world here is as it was pre-pandemic. There are plenty of travellers – not many Brits but plenty of other European visitors and in some places quite a few Americans too. Regarding the “tourist dollar”, so many Greeks have taken holidays in their own country after a year of lockdown, that several places we’ve been to have said they’ve had their best ever year for revenue! It’s been a bumper summer so everyone is happy!