Cave of the Apocalypse
The cave where, by tradition, St John wrote the Book of Revelation, halfway down the old path to Skala.
Patmos · Centre · Χώρα
Chora, a white town below the monastery of St John
The hilltop capital of Patmos, a maze of white lanes and captains' mansions around the Monastery of St John, with views over half the Dodecanese. Together with the monastery and the Cave of the Apocalypse it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Greetings from Chora
Chora, Patmos
We heard the monastery bells before the sun was up and walked up to the gate as it opened, before the boats came in. Inside it was cool, and smelled of candle wax and old wood. All afternoon we got lost in white lanes behind tall doors with bougainvillea above them. Tonight we're at the windmills, watching the islands go blue one by one.
A white town wrapped around a fortress monastery
The story of Chora
Chora sits on a ridge about 150 m above Skala, in the middle of the island. At its top is the Monastery of St John the Theologian, with battlements and bell towers like a castle. The monk Christodoulos founded it in 1088, after the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos gave him the island. He built walls around it against the pirates who raided the Aegean at the time.
The town grew around the walls for protection. In the 16th and 17th centuries Patmos got rich from shipping and trade, and its captains and merchants built stone mansions. They have high walls, carved doorways, courtyards and painted wooden ceilings, and many are still homes. Refugees from Crete came after Candia fell to the Ottomans in 1669, and they gave one quarter its name, Alotina.
Chora has more than forty churches and chapels, and the convent of Zoodochos Pigi, founded in 1607, where nuns still live and keep a small courtyard full of flowers. Below the town, halfway down to Skala, is the Cave of the Apocalypse. By tradition, St John the Evangelist was exiled here around AD 95 and wrote the Book of Revelation in the cave. In 1999 UNESCO listed the cave, the monastery and the whole of Chora as a World Heritage Site.
Cars stop at the edge of town, so the lanes are quiet, with only footsteps and church bells. Day-trippers from the cruise ships climb up in the morning and leave by early afternoon. In the evening the squares fill with locals, and the three windmills on the ridge catch the last sun over the sea.
Hour by hour
A perfect day in Chora
Go up to the monastery early, keep the hot hours for lanes and shade, and finish with the sunset at the windmills. Here is how we would spend a day here.
- 08:00
The monastery at opening time
Walk up to the gate of the Monastery of St John when it opens, before the cruise passengers arrive. Cover your shoulders and knees. Look for the courtyard with its bell towers and the frescoes in the main church, and save time for the treasury.
- 10:00
Down to the Cave of the Apocalypse
Walk down the old cobbled path towards Skala, about 20 minutes, to the Cave of the Apocalypse. In the small cave chapel you can see the rock where, by tradition, St John rested his head, and the crack in the ceiling through which he heard the voice.
- 13:00
Lunch in the shade
Come back up and eat slowly on a square in the shade: chickpeas from the oven, fresh fish, a cold glass of white wine.
- 16:00
Lose your way in the lanes
When the day-trippers have gone, wander the lanes. Look for carved doorways, the flowers in the courtyard of Zoodochos Pigi, and the views over the islands from the edge of town.
- 19:30
Sunset at the windmills
Walk to the three windmills on the ridge at the edge of town. The sun sets over the sea and the islands of Ikaria and Samos.
- 21:00
Dinner below the walls
Walk back from the windmills to Aloni, on the old threshing floor, for Patmian food and often live music. By night the walls of the monastery are lit up above you, and the lanes are quiet.
Where to eat
Tables we love in Chora
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Mediterranean
Loza
Chora · Skala & Chora
A restaurant high in Chora with views over Skala and the north of the island, cooking a step up from the usual taverna.
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Taverna with live music
Aloni
Chora, by the windmills · Skala & Chora
A taverna on the site of the village's old threshing floor, serving Patmian food with traditional music and dancing.
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Taverna
Vaggelis
Chora · Skala & Chora
An old taverna on the small main square of Chora, with tables out under the white walls.
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Brunch & sharing plates
Benetos Chora
Chora · Skala & Chora
Brunch and Greek sharing plates in Chora, with sunset views over the sea.
Within an easy drive
Around Chora
The windmills
Three restored windmills on the ridge at the edge of Chora, the best place on the island for the sunset.
Zoodochos Pigi convent
A convent from 1607 in the lanes of Chora, with a small, flower-filled courtyard. The nuns let visitors in at set hours.
Psili Ammos
The island's only big sandy beach, in the far south, reached by a boat from Skala or a 25-minute walk from the end of the road at Diakofti.
Good to know
Before you go to Chora
Getting there
Chora is about 4 km from Skala by road, around 10 minutes by car, scooter or the bus that runs several times a day. You can also walk up the old cobbled path in about 45 minutes, past the Cave of the Apocalypse. Leave the car in the car park below the monastery: the lanes are only for walking.
When to go
May, June, September and early October are best: warm days, cooler walks and fewer cruise ships. In summer, visit the monastery at opening time. Orthodox Easter is the most moving time of all, with candlelit processions and the washing of the feet in the main square on Holy Thursday, but book a year ahead.
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