Mandraki
Mandraki is the main village and the most populated settlement of Nisyros. It is also the port where ferries from Kos and other Dodecanese islands arrive. As such, it offers the widest choice of rooms to rent, restaurants and shops on the island. All tavernas and cafes are set along the sea, and the small souvenir shops, mini markets and bakeries are scattered in the small narrow streets between the houses.
Above Mandraki, on a 30 meters high rock rises up the Monastery of Panagia Spiliani, which is built in the middle of a ruined fortress and has a cave church inside. The monastery yard is decorated with stone mosaics and it reveals a panoramic view to the village and the sea. The old castle of Nisyros, called Paleokastro, is even higher - on the top of a hill 3 km away from the village.
There are two beaches in Mandraki. The smaller one is in the center, between the seafront tavernas. It has coarse volcanic sand with pebbles and rocks around the shore and a few sunbeds. The other beach, called Chochlaki, is a bit out of the village, below the Monastery of Panagia Spiliani. It is accessible via small path and has big smooth pebbles around the shore, and volcanic lava formations in one end. Chohlaki has no facilities at all and it can be seen from the monastery yard.
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highlights: the main and most populated village of the island, village in Nisyros, Dodecanese Islands, Greece