About Naxos
Naxos is a Greek island, the largest island (429 km² or 166 sq mi) in the Cyclades island group in the Aegean sea. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture.
The island comprises the two municipalities of Naxos and Drymalia. The largest town and capital of the island is Hora, sometimes called Naxos City, with 6,533 inhabitants (2001 census). The main villages are Filoti, Aperanthos, Vivlos, Agios Arsenios, Koronos, Apollonas and Glinado.
Naxos is a popular tourist destination, with several easily accessible archaelogical sites. It has a multitude of beautiful beaches, such as those at Agia Anna, Agios Prokopios, Alikos, Kastraki, Mikri Vigla, Plaka, and Agios Georgios, most of them near Hora. Naxos is the most fertile island of the Cyclades. It has a plentiful supply of water in a region where the water supply is usually limited. Mount Zas (999 metres) is the highest peak in the Cyclades, and tends to trap the clouds, permitting greater rainfall. This has made agriculture an important economic sector with various vegetable and fruit crops as well as cattle breeding, making Naxos one of the most self sufficient islands in the Cyclades. In fact, the island gains most of its income from agriculture rather than tourism.
Getting Around
In the town, walking is the best method of transport. Bus services do operate between the villages, and car and motorbike rentals are available.
Highlights of Naxos
The most recognizable landmark of Naxos is the Portara, an iconic 6th century BC marble gate on the islet of Palatia in Naxos harbor. It is the only remnant of a temple dedicated to Apollo.
The Castro (old walled city) section, on its elevated ground overlooking the harbor, provides some of the quietest and most photogenic alleyways to be found in the town. It survives from the days when Naxos was an outpost of the Venetian empire.
Archaeological highlights include Kouros, a rather modest half-finished statue uncovered in a quarry near Melanes (Kouronohori) as well as a larger version near Apollonas on the northern coast and the Cheimarros Tower.
Special attention has been given in recent years to the sites of Dimitra's temple at Sangri, and Dionysus' temple below Glinado village, where the Ministry of Culture organizes full moon concerts in July and August.
Naxos is well known for its wonderful beaches, some with advantageous winds for prime windsurfing and kitesurfing. Most of the Island's west coast is one long sandy beach with crystal clear azure water, the most popular areas of which are Agios Prokopios, Agia Anna, Plaka and Mikri Vigla. Agios Prokopios consistently ranks in the top 10 Greek beaches, as voted on by the public in the Ministry of Environment website. Naxos also has a mountainous interior with a great variety of valleys and villages, easily reachable by road.
For adventure-lovers, the island offers many opportunities for active sports. Naxos Diving Center, located at Plaka beach, offers beautiful and safe diving trips around the island. Excellent conditions are formed among meadows of sea weed (Posidonia Oceanica), sand banks, reefs and vertical cuts along with shipwrecks, not only for marine life but also for the divers who explore them.
The tiny harbors of Lionas and Moutsouna on the east coast are very picturesque and quiet even in the summer months. Both have tavernas and a beach. A newly asphalted road from Moutsouna down to Panermos is also very much worth exploring, as it passes by several secluded bays.
Products of Naxos
Due to its fertile valleys, Naxos has the richest variety of produce of the Cyclades islands (Naxos is famous in Greece for its potatoes), as well as cattle and poultry. Most restaurants serve fresh and wholesome food, but only a few stand out for excellent dishes, especially in local cuisine.
The olive oils one encounters are superior to the 'light virgin' oil commonly available, in that the local process apparently leaves in much more olive flavor.
Naxos is famous for producing its own liquor called kitron, made from an exotic fruit which can be compared perhaps to lemons, though kitron's taste is pleasantly sweet and citric. Its production process can be viewed at the old Valindras distillery in the village of Halki, where different varieties can also be tasted. Kitron is also produced by the Promponas distillery.