Dodecanese Chalki Island guide

Chalki (Halki), Greece: Nimborio, Beaches, Chorio & Hotels

Chalki, also spelled Halki, is a small rocky island in the Dodecanese, just west of Rhodes. The island covers 28 km² and has about 300 residents. One harbour village, Nimborio, ranges around a horseshoe bay, sandy Pontamos beach lies a short walk away, and the old capital of Chorio stands inland below a castle. Chalki draws few tourists, so it stays quiet.

Group: Dodecanese
Area: 28 km²
Population: ~300
Main village: Nimborio

The island of Chalki

Chalki measures 28 km² and is home to about 300 people. The name means copper, after the mines that once worked here. The island is dry and has no natural water supply, so water is shipped in from Rhodes and the tap water is mixed with seawater, which gives it a salty taste. Electricity reaches Chalki through undersea cables from Rhodes. Around 8,000 people lived here in the past, but after 1900 a disease killed the sponges offshore, the sponge divers lost their work, and many emigrated to America. Chalki lies just west of Rhodes, which serves as the gateway to the island.

Villages of Chalki

Chalki has two settlements: the harbour village of Nimborio, the only inhabited village, and the old capital of Chorio inland below its castle, almost deserted today.

Nimborio

Nimborio is the only village of any size on Chalki and the point where the ferries arrive. The harbour forms a horseshoe, lined with Venetian and neoclassical mansions, and three derelict windmills stand on the hill behind. The large houses show that the island was once prosperous, a wealth backed by the many old coins that archaeologists have found here. Owners have restored more of the houses in recent years, and many now serve as holiday villas. Only about one third of the houses in Nimborio are lived in year-round by islanders. The village keeps a bakery, a supermarket and tavernas, plus an ATM by the harbour, but there is no bank, no bus and only one taxi.

Chorio

Chorio, sometimes called Chora, is the former capital of Chalki, inland from Nimborio. A castle of the Knights of St John crowns the village, and several churches stand inside it, including a church of Agios Nikolaos with frescoes and mosaics. A ruined monastery lies nearby. The village was built out of sight of the sea to guard against pirate raids. About 4,000 people lived here at its height, but it is almost completely deserted today. The castle and churches are described in the Chalki sights guide.

Beaches of Chalki

Chalki has a handful of small beaches within walking distance of Nimborio. Pontamos is the main beach and the only sandy one, a shallow bay about 10 minutes south-east of the village. Ftenagia is a pebble cove about 15 minutes on the other side of Nimborio. Kania, Areta, Trachia and Yiali round out the coast, most of them quiet and unorganised. Each beach is described in the Chalki beaches guide.

Chorio, the castle and Alimnia

Chalki holds its history inland and around the harbour. The clock tower on Nimborio harbour is the highest freestanding clock tower in the Dodecanese and belongs to the Agios Nikolaos church of 1861. Chorio, the former capital, sits inland below a castle of the Knights of St John and is almost deserted today. The uninhabited islet of Alimnia lies between Chalki and Rhodes, reached by boat. These are covered in the Chalki sights guide.

Where to stay

Accommodation on Chalki centres on Nimborio, where restored mansions hold studios, apartments and small hotels. Atlantis Houses, Villa Dolphins and Mika's House are among the properties by the harbour and Pontamos beach. Choice is limited, so book ahead outside the quietest weeks. Compare the options in the Chalki hotels & villas guide, which covers the harbour hotels and the restored self-catering houses.

Where to eat

Chalki serves its food around Nimborio harbour and at two of the beaches. Tavernas ring the bay in the village, and a taverna stands on Pontamos beach and another at Ftenagia. A bakery and a supermarket in Nimborio cover self-catering. The eating areas are set out in the Chalki restaurants guide.