Kálymnos

Craggy, cliffy, wildly indented Kálymnos is a breath of fresh air – an island where visitors are welcome but where carpenters still hammer, tailors still stitch, and the old spicy Greek smell of coffee and herbs still fills the streets, even in winter when many other islands look forlorn. It is a relatively wealthy island, with a domestic airport.

Kálymnos has sheer crags and cliffs (the island’s highest point, Mount Profítis Ilías (700m/2,300ft), is the driest spot in all the Dodecanese) mini-fjords and sandy beaches. In 1996, Italian rock climber Andrea Di Bari just happened to come here for his holiday, and was awestruck by its hard limestone cliffs and dramatic overhangs and massive potential for his beloved sport.

He returned to Kalymnos in May 1997 with some climbing friends and opened the first 43 sport routes and the rest is history; today Kálymnos is considered one of the greatest areas in the world for the sport. There are over 4,000 routes and the potential for many many more. The climbers (the perfect climbing season is May and October, but there’s enough shady routes even in summer) keeps the nearby beach hotels at Massoúri open most of the year.