Kala Pigadia
The upper-town quarter you pass on the way up, with the wells and the houses of the 1960s colony.
Hydra · The mountain & the interior · Προφήτης Ηλίας
Profitis Ilias, the monastery on the mountain
A monastery high on the mountain behind the town, reached by a long stepped path through the pines
The mountain & the interior · Hydra
About Profitis Ilias
The monastery of Profitis Ilias, the Prophet Elijah, stands high on the slopes of Mount Eros, the island's highest summit, looking straight down on Hydra Town and its harbour. The climb from town on the old stepped mule path takes about an hour to an hour and a half and passes through pinewoods, with the sea opening out below at every bend. A little way off is the convent of Agia Efpraxia. The view from the terrace, over the town and the gulf to the mountains of the Peloponnese, is one of the great rewards of the island.
Within an easy drive
Around Profitis Ilias
Good to know
Before you go to Profitis Ilias
Getting there
On foot from the top of the town, following the signs for the monastery up a well-trodden stepped path. Mules can be hired at the harbour for those who would rather ride.
When to go
Spring and autumn, or very early on a summer morning. Take water, and remember these are working religious houses with set visiting hours, usually closed in the early afternoon.
More of Hydra
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Hydra Town & the harbour
Hydra Town
A horseshoe harbour climbing in grey stone and white to the hills, with no cars, a few hundred mules and two centuries of painters
Hydra Town & the harbour
Kala Pigadia
The 'good wells' of the upper town, where Leonard Cohen and the expat colony of the 1960s lived among the island families
Kamini & the west coast
Kamini
A fishing village twenty minutes' walk along the sea from town, with a pocket-sized harbour and tavernas facing west
Fall for more of Hydra
Every stay we recommend across Hydra, from village guesthouses to rooms on the sea.
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