Greece
Patmos
The island where St John wrote Revelation — his hillside cave still open to Aegean wind.
The cave is set into the hillside between the port and the monastery — a low-ceilinged rock chamber where St John is believed to have received the visions of the Apocalypse nearly two thousand years ago. Above, the fortress-monastery of St John the Theologian crowns the hill, its grey walls visible from every bay on the island.
Patmos was inscribed as World Heritage in 1999 for the Monastery of St John the Theologian (founded 1088 AD), the medieval Chora surrounding it, plus the Cave of the Apocalypse. The Cave of the Apocalypse, where tradition holds that St John dictated the Book of Revelation around AD 95, remains a pilgrimage site. The monastery treasury holds illuminated manuscripts, Byzantine icons, and one of the oldest surviving fragments of the Gospel of Mark. The island has no airport and limited ferry connections, keeping the atmosphere contemplative even during peak season.
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Solo
The Cave of the Apocalypse in early morning, the monastery treasury's illuminated manuscripts, and the Chora's lanes after sunset once the pilgrims have departed.
Couple
The Byzantine Chora with its whitewashed mansions and hidden chapels, a harbour-side dinner at Skala, and the spiritual weight of a place that has been sacred for two millennia.
- The Cave of the Apocalypse — where St John is believed to have received his visions around AD 95 — is set into the hillside between the port and the monastery.
- The Monastery of St John the Theologian (built 1088) holds illuminated manuscripts and Byzantine icons in its treasury, open to visitors on certain mornings.
- Patmos's Chorá, the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse were inscribed together as World Heritage in 1999.
- The island has no airport and limited ferry connections — the permanent population of around 3,000 keeps tourist numbers manageable outside August.
At Pantheon in Chora the grill runs octopus and meats in a small courtyard beneath the monastery walls.
Pasteli — sesame-honey bars — is the Dodecanese sweet to carry home.
Abaiang
Kiribati
At high tide the sea surrounds Tebunginako's church; the village choir times services around it.
Abbotsbury
England
A swannery where six hundred mute swans nest in reed beds behind the Chesil Bank.
Abel Tasman National Park
New Zealand
Golden bays between forested headlands, reached only on foot, by kayak or water taxi.
Aberdaron
Wales
A church on the sand where pilgrims ate their last meal before the island crossing.
Acheron River
Greece
Wade into the ice-cold River of the Dead — Greeks believed it flowed to Hades.
Agiofarango Gorge
Greece
Three hundred hermits once lived this gorge — a cave chapel and the Libyan Sea remain.
Alonissos
Greece
A vast marine park where monk seals still hold their coves — Greece's wild northern Sporades.
Amorgos
Greece
A whitewashed monastery clings to a 300-metre cliff face above crashing Aegean surf.