Greece
Nisyros
Walk into a live volcanic caldera where sulphur vents hiss through cracked earth.
The crater floor is cracked and hissing — yellow sulphur crusts around the vents, and the air tastes of rotten eggs and brimstone. You are standing inside a live volcano, the 330-metre-wide Stefanos crater, and the ground beneath your feet is hot enough to feel through the soles of your shoes.
Nisyros is among the few places in Europe where visitors can walk into an active volcanic caldera. The Stefanos crater is 330 metres wide and nearly 30 metres deep, with surface temperatures reaching 98°C around the sulphur dioxide vents. Mandraki whitewashes its lanes along the volcano's seaward edge, while Nikia watches from the caldera rim, its elliptical Porta Square paved in pebble mosaic. The island distils souma — called koukouzina here, a grape-must spirit made in small family batches — along with island honey and wine, all served in tavernas perched above the caldera in Nikia village.
Couple
Walking into the crater together in the morning cool, koukouzina tasting in Nikia village, and the surreal experience of dining above an active volcano.
Family
The crater is accessible for older children — keep to the marked paths between the fumaroles. They will remember the hissing vents for years, and Mandraki has a harbour beach.
Friends
Hiking the caldera rim trail, the geological museum in Mandraki, and the novelty of a bar built on volcanic deposits laid down over some 160,000 years.
Solo
Dawn in the crater alone with the steam, the geological detail of the vents and deposits, and Nikia village in late light after the busiest boats depart.
- The Stefanos crater — 330 metres wide and nearly 30 metres deep — is among the few active volcanic craters in Europe that visitors can walk into and explore.
- Sulphur vents hold the crater floor near boiling — the smell reaches the rim before you do.
- The main village of Mandraki stands on the flank of the volcano itself, its whitewashed houses set on volcanic deposits laid down over some 160,000 years.
- Nikia's tavernas above the caldera pour island honey, wine and the family-batch spirit.
Pitia, chickpea fritters seasoned with onion and herbs and fried until crisp.
Soumada, a sweet almond drink served cold in the shade of Mandraki’s square.
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