Explore The Cyclades
ÁNDHROS, the second largest and northernmost of the Cyclades, is also one of the most verdant, its fertile, well-watered valleys and hillsides sprouting scores of holiday villas. Still home to a very hospitable people, an attractive capital, numerous good beaches, plus some idiosyncratic reminders of the Venetian period – such as the peristereónes (dovecote towers) and the frákhtes (dry-stone walls) – Ándhros has a special charm. Driving is also a joy, with precipitous coastal roads offering panoramic views over the Aegean.
The only cloud in your enjoyment of the island may be the current shutdown of all state museums on Ándhros; check if they have opened before you visit.
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Panayía Panakhrándou
Panayía Panakhrándou
Two hours’ pleasant walk from Hóra via the village of Fállika, or via a signposted turn-off on the road to Kórthi, you arrive at the finest monastery on the island, Panayía Panakhrándou (closed 1–4.30pm). Founded around 961 and with an icon said to be by St Luke, it’s still defended by massive walls but is occupied these days by just one monk. From the entrance door, a long passageway leads in past gushing springs to the atmospheric catholicon dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin with its impressive and colourful iconostasis. Its lower decoration with Ottoman Iznik tiles is unique in the Aegean and it represents a gift to the monastery by Patriarch Dionysius III in the 1660s.
