Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
The petrified forest
Daily: June-Sept 8am-sunset; Oct-May 8am-4pm • €2
To the west of Ypsiloú begins the 5km side road to the main concentration of Lésvos's
overrated
petriied forest
, a fenced-in “reserve” toured along 3km of walkways. For
once, contemporary Greek arsonists cannot be blamed for the state of the trees, created
by the combined action of volcanic ash from Órdhymnos and hot springs some fifteen
to twenty million years ago. The mostly horizontal sequoia trunks average 1m or less in
length, save for a few poster-worthy exceptions; there's another more accessible (and
free) cluster south of Sígri.
Sígri
SÍGRI
, near the western tip of Lésvos, has an appropriately end-of-the-line feel; its bay is
guarded both by an Ottoman castle and the long island of
Nissiopí
, which protects the
place somewhat from prevailing winds. The eighteenth-century
castle
, built atop an
earlier one, sports the reigning sultan's monogram over the entrance, something rarely
seen outside İstanbul, evidence of the high regard in which this strategic port with a
good water supply was held. The odd-looking church of
Ayía Triádha
is in fact a
converted
mosque
, with a huge water cistern taking up the ground floor; this supplied,
among other things, the half-ruined
hammam
just south.
Natural History Museum of the Lésvos Petrified Forest
Daily: July-Sept 8am-8pm; Oct-May 8am-5pm • €5 •
T
22530 54434,
W
lesvosmuseum.gr
At the top of town stands the well-executed but overpriced
Natural History Museum of
the Lésvos Petrified Forest
, which covers pan-Aegean geology with samples and maps
(including, ominously, seismic patterns), as well as the expected quota of petrified logs
and plant fossils from when the surrounding hills were far more vegetated.
The beaches
The nearest of several
beaches
, south of the castle headland, is somewhat narrow but is
the only one with amenities. The far superior strand of
Faneroméni
lies 3.5km north by a
coastal dirt track from the northern outskirts of town. A shorter but equally good beach,
Liména
, can be found 2km south of Sígri at another creek mouth, just of the rough,
one-lane, 15km track to Eressós, passable with care in an ordinary car, in 35 minutes.
ACCOMMODATION, EATING AND DRINKING
SÍGRI
Cavo d'Oro/Blue Wave
(no sign)
T
22530 54221.
The only taverna on the harbour itself is a classic for
lobster and scaly fish; most of the restaurants around the
nearby platía are run-of-the-mill in comparison.
Daily
11am-2am.
Notia
The hippest place in town, with frequent live jazz
sessions and offering the usual range of refreshments.
Daily 8pm-late.
Pyrgospito/Towerhouse
T
22530 22909,
W
lesvos-
towerhouse.gr.
Four spacious antique-furnished apartments
in a
belle époque
folly, 500m outside of the
villa
ge, in a
landscaped hillside setting with pool. May-Oct.
€70
Skála Eressoú
Most visitors to western Lésvos park themselves at
SKÁLA ERESSOÚ
, reached via a
southerly turning between Ándissa and Ypsiloú. Its 3km
beach
almost rivals Vatera's as
the best on the island. Behind stretches the largest and most attractive agricultural plain
on Lésvos, a welcome green contrast to the volcanic ridges above.
There's not much to central Skála - just a roughly rectangular grid of perhaps five
streets by twelve, angling up to the oldest cottages on the slope of Vígla hill above the
east end of the beach. The waterfront pedestrian lane is divided midway by a café-lined,
circular platía with a bust of
Theophrastos
. This renowned botanist hailed from
ancient
Eressós
atop Vígla hill - the remaining citadel wall is still visible from a distance, and
though the ruins themselves prove scanty, the views reward a scramble up.
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DRYING SQUID, MÓLYVOS, LÉSVOS; PYRGI, HÍOS (P.626) >