Patmos

Patmos, one of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese, covers just 34.05 square kilometers and counted 3,283 residents in the 2021 census, spread mainly between the hillside capital of Chora and the small port town of Skala. Shaped somewhat like a seahorse and set between Samos and Kos, the island has long been defined less by its size than by its place in religious history.

Tradition holds that the apostle John of Patmos received the vision recorded in the Book of Revelation while living in a cave on the island, and the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian, founded by Christodoulos Latrinos with construction beginning in 1101, still dominates the skyline above Chora. In 1999, UNESCO inscribed the monastery, the Cave of the Apocalypse, and the historic center of Chora together as a World Heritage Site for their significance to Christianity.

Beyond its religious landmarks, Patmos offers a mountainous coastline of coves and beaches such as Kambos and Vagia, and with its single port of entry at Skala, it remains a popular stop for gulet charter guests exploring Greece who prefer to anchor off the quieter bays further along the coast.