Χίος · The mastic island, of medieval villages and citrus mansions
Get lost in the vaulted lanes of a fortress village, walk streets painted in black-and-white patterns, sleep in a Genoese mansion among lemon trees and swim from a beach of black pebbles.
Greetings from Chios
Chios
This morning we woke in an old stone mansion in Kampos, with breakfast under the lemon trees and marmalade made from the fruit above our heads. In the afternoon we drove south through hills of mastic trees to Pyrgi, where every wall is painted in black-and-white patterns like lace. Now we are at a table on the little square of Mesta, inside a village built like a castle, with a glass of mastic liqueur and nowhere else we would rather be.
Hour by hour
Golden mosaics in the hills, a ghost village, the painted lanes of the south, and dinner in a medieval square.
Start in Kampos, south of Chios Town, with breakfast in the courtyard of an old stone mansion, among orange and mandarin trees.
Drive up into the pine-covered hills to Nea Moni, the 11th-century monastery whose mosaics are among the finest Byzantine art in the world.
Go on to Anavatos, the abandoned stone village on its cliff, and climb up through its silent lanes to the top of the rock.
Head to the far south for a late lunch by the harbour of Emporios and a swim from the beach of black volcanic pebbles.
Walk the lanes of Pyrgi, where every house is scratched with black-and-white patterns, in the soft light of the evening.
End the day in Mesta, inside the walls, at a table on the little square under the great church.
Where to stay
Kampos
Argentikon · Luxury estate suites · €€€€
Kampos
Perleas Guesthouse · Mansion guesthouse · €€€
Mesta
Lida Mary · Medieval boutique hotel · €€€
Only on Chios
What makes Chios different from every other island in the Aegean.
The lentisk trees of southern Chios are the only ones in the world that weep mastic, the fragrant resin used since antiquity in medicine, perfume, sweets and the first chewing gum. Its cultivation is on UNESCO's list of intangible heritage.
To guard the mastic, the Genoese fortified the villages of the south. In Mesta the outer houses form the walls, the lanes run under vaults, and the roofs connect so that people could cross the village without touching the ground.
In Pyrgi almost every façade is covered in xysta, geometric patterns scratched into grey plaster to show the white beneath, a craft found nowhere else in Greece.
Nea Moni, founded in the 11th century by the emperor Constantine IX, keeps some of the finest Byzantine mosaics anywhere and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with Hosios Loukas and Daphni.
Towns & villages
A medieval fortress village of vaulted lanes, built to hide its mastic
The best-preserved of the mastic villages, and one of the most remarkable villages in Greece. Mesta is a castle in the shape of a village: the outer houses form its walls, and inside, a maze of narrow stone lanes runs under arches and vaults, so you walk through it as if through one great building. Everything leads to the little square, where the tables of the tavernas sit beneath the big church of the Taxiarchis.
The painted village, its houses scratched in black-and-white patterns
The largest of the mastic villages, and one of the strangest and loveliest in Greece. Almost every house is covered in xysta, geometric patterns of triangles, circles and flowers scratched into grey plaster over whitewash, so the lanes look like they have been embroidered. In the middle stands the little Byzantine church of the Holy Apostles, painted inside with frescoes, and around the square the tomatoes and strings of peppers hang from the balconies in late summer.
Things to do
Culture
Wander the vaulted stone lanes of the fortress village until you find the square, then stay for dinner under the church as the lanes cool down.
Mesta
Nature
From late July to September the farmers scrape the bark of the lentisk trees and gather the tears of resin from the white earth below. Visit the Mastic Museum, then taste mastic sweets and liqueur in the villages.
The mastic villages
Culture
Ride or walk the narrow lanes between the high stone walls of the citrus estates, peeking through old gates at mansions, cisterns and waterwheels. Best in April, when the orange blossom is out.
Kampos
Good to know
Chios is one of the largest islands in the Aegean, about 842 km² of mountains rising to 1,297 m, so close to Turkey that you can see its coast across the strait. For centuries it was one of the richest places in the Mediterranean, thanks to one tree: the lentisk of the south, whose resin, mastic, grows nowhere else in the world. To protect it the Genoese built fortified villages like Mesta and Pyrgi, and the island's merchants built stone mansions among the citrus orchards of Kampos. Add a Byzantine monastery with golden mosaics, a ghost village on a cliff, Homer's stone and quiet beaches, and you have a deeply Greek island where tourism has never taken over.
When to go
May, June and September are ideal: warm, green or golden, and calm. July and August are hotter and busier but never crowded like the Cyclades. Go in late summer for the mastic harvest, or at Easter for the rocket war.
Getting around
Chios is big and mountainous, so a car is almost essential. Buses link Chios Town with the main villages and Karfas, and taxis are easy to find in town.
How long
Five to seven days gives you Chios Town and Kampos, the mastic villages, Nea Moni and Anavatos, and a day in the wild north around Volissos.
Getting there
Fly from Athens to Chios in about 50 minutes, or take the overnight ferry from Piraeus in about 7–9 hours.
Flights & ferries
A Bronze Age harbour, the island Homer is said to have called home, golden Byzantine mosaics, Genoese mastic lords, a massacre that moved Europe and a seafaring dynasty.
Walk through the story