Photo spot in Chios
The ruins of Anavatos
A grey stone village stacked up a three-hundred-metre cliff and almost entirely abandoned — stairs, doorways and walls with the sky behind them.
About The ruins of Anavatos
Get directionsAnavatos is built up a spur of rock in the middle of the island, house on house, each one's roof forming the terrace of the next, until the top of the village sits on a cliff that falls away vertically on three sides. It was a refuge, and its history is grim: the village never recovered from the massacre of 1822 and has been left to stand ever since, with only a handful of residents.
What remains is one of the strongest sets of shapes in the Aegean. Empty doorways, worn stairways between the houses, walls with nothing behind them but air. Because the stone is the same colour as the rock, the whole hill reads as a single mass, and a figure in colour on the steps is the only thing the eye goes to.
The first hour and the last hour are both good: low sun models the stacked walls and separates one level from the next, while at noon the village goes flat and grey. Sunset light on the western face is the classic. Winter and spring add green to the hills around it, which helps enormously.
The upper part of the village has been consolidated in places and closed in others; stairs are uneven, edges are unguarded and there are no railings at the cliff. Sensible shoes, and check which sections are open when you arrive.
Best time to shoot
Last light, when low sun models the stacked walls and separates one level from the next
Tips
Uneven stairs, unguarded edges and a real cliff at the top — sensible shoes and no distraction near the drop. Sections of the village open and close with conservation work; check on arrival.
Other spots in Chios
Pyrgi's painted square
Every wall in the village is scratched over in grey and white geometry, and the little square in front of Agioi Apostoloi is the densest corner of it.
The vaulted lanes of Mesta
A medieval village built as its own fortress — no outer windows, one gate, and dim stone tunnels running between the houses.
Mavra Volia, the black beach at Emporios
A bay of polished black volcanic pebbles under red-brown cliffs, with water that goes dark blue two steps from the shore.
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Our concierge team will hand-pick 2-3 photographers who know The ruins of Anavatos — free of charge.