Kefalonia

What to do in Kefalonia

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  Corgialenios Historical and Cultural Museum

  One of the finest museums in Greece, this institution showcases a vast collection that provides a comprehensive look at life on Kefalonia in historic times. Visitors can view traditional local costumes, photos of the island before the earthquakes, sacred relics, old lace and embroideries, historic furniture and household items like utensils and tools, maps and paintings, and more.

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  Agios Gerasimos Monastery

  Saint Gerasimos is Kefalonia’s patron saint. In the 1500s, he lived here, founding the monastery that was constructed on the site of a previous monastery that had been dedicated to the Virgin Mary. His body was mummified and kept inside a glass case in this pink building, displayed occasionally at services. The courtyard holds a well and a plane tree that’s said to have been planted the saint himself. On his feast days of August 16 and October 20, his sarcophagus is carried over the ill to help heal them.

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  Hike Mount Aenos

  Mount Aenos is the tallest mountain on the island at over 5,341 feet, covered with Greek fir and black pines, and inhabited by semi-wild ponies. It sits inside a national park and offers a variety of trails, including the popular four-mile Digaleto-Megas Soros trail. It begins just outside the village of Digaleto and brings hikers to the summit where there is a long ridge of bare rock providing a stunning view of the Ionians islands and the Peloponnese peninsula.

• Melissani Cave

  This cave houses a stunning underground lake that’s lit from above as the sun enters a hole in the rock. Visitors can take a short boat tour, paddling onto the lake with a guide to witness the stalactites and the light that streaks through the ceiling, illuminating the water. It’s an incredible sight to see, and a place steeped in Greek mythology as the Cave of the Nymphs, the spot nymph Melissani is said to have drowned herself after the god Pan rejected her affections. In 1962, plates and oil lamps that depicted Pan. For the best experience aim to arrive at midday, the time when the sun shines directly above the opening.

• Boat Excursions

  There are multiple boat tours to choose from, including glass-bottom boat and wooden gulets that will bring you across the crystal-clear aquamarine sea to discover unspoiled beaches and hidden coves for swimming as well as to the neighboring islands of Ithaki and Zante.

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  The Beaches

  There are many fabulous beaches on Kefalonia, but Myrtos Beach is often ranked as the very best in the country. Nestled between two mountains at the north end of the island, it may look familiar as it’s often photographed. Its white sands are framed by water that glows in the ever-present sunshine due to marble sediment, creating mesmerizing shades of blue. Viewing it for the first time a dramatic experience as it comes into sight at the end of a steep, winding road.