Explore Chios Beyond the Beach

Kampos is unlike anywhere else in Greece. A wide fertile plain just south of Chios Town, it has been settled by wealthy merchant families — Genoese, then Chiot — since the 14th century. They built neoclassical archontika (manor houses) within high stone walls, each surrounded by hectares of orange, lemon, and tangerine groves irrigated by medieval stone water wheels called noria. Many of these estates still stand. The lanes between them are flat, shaded, completely free of traffic, and lined with walls draped in bougainvillea. On a bicycle at 7am with the scent of citrus blossom in the air, Kampos is extraordinary.

• →Enter Kampos via the main road south of Chios Town and immediately turn into the estate lanes — the official street signs say 'Kampos'. Explore without a fixed plan.
• →Look for the noria — the large stone circular pools and wooden water wheels inside the estate walls. Some are still operational.
• →The Mavrokordatiko mansion (open to visitors) gives a rare glimpse inside one of these estates. Ask locally for directions.
• →November to February: Kampos is fragrant with tangerine harvest. The trees hang heavy and the lanes smell extraordinary. Chios mandarins are among the best in the world — buy a bag from a roadside stall.

Chios has two very different hiking landscapes. The north of the island is covered in dense pine forest — the Amani area — where fire roads have been converted to walking trails through some of the most peaceful woodland in the Aegean. The air is cool even in July, the paths wind between enormous old pines, and the views open suddenly to the Turkish coast and the island of Psara. In the centre of the island, the Kampia Gorge is a completely different proposition: a narrow volcanic canyon carved into the rock, with rushing water in spring, dramatic basalt formations, and the feeling of being somewhere entirely remote despite being 15 km from town.

• →For Amani: drive north from Chios Town toward Volissos and look for signs to the Amani forest area around km 30. The dirt road into the forest is driveable — park and walk from there.
• →Kampia Gorge starts near the village of Kampia, ~15 km northwest of Chios Town. The path descends from the village square. Follow the stream bed.
• →Spring is the best time for Kampia — water flows through the gorge and wildflowers cover the walls. In summer it is dry but still beautiful.
• →The E4 European long-distance hiking path passes through northern Chios — well-marked with yellow and black signs. Good for longer day routes.

Chios sits between two very different small islands, and a day trip to either — or both if you plan carefully — is one of the best things you can do here. Oinousses (45 min by ferry) is the aristocratic one: 800 permanent residents, no tourist infrastructure, pristine beaches, and mansions belonging to the Greek shipping dynasties whose ancestors left this tiny island and came to control a significant share of world maritime trade. Psara (3–4 hours by ferry, or faster by private boat) is the haunted one: devastated by the Ottomans in 1824 during the War of Independence, it never fully recovered. Today it has around 400 residents, several outstanding beaches, and a profound melancholy that is part of its extraordinary character.

• →Oinousses has 2–3 tavernas. Lunch on the harbour with the fishing boats is excellent. The Nautical Museum of Oinousses is worth 30 minutes.
• →Psara's best beach is Limnos, a 20-minute walk from the port. Almost always empty. The water is exceptional.
• →The Psara massacre memorial (monument on the highest point of the island) is worth visiting — it overlooks the sea and the cliff where survivors threw themselves rather than surrender. Gives context to why Chios and its neighbors feel so historically weighty.
• →Book Psara ferry tickets ahead in July–August — the boat is small and fills up. Check schedules at the Chios harbour ticket office.