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Businesses, flavours and experiences across all the islands — choose a category.
List it for free and showcase it to thousands of visitors.
List now →Discover the beaches, culture, and experiences you must not miss in the Cyclades.
In Apoikia, on the island of Andros, water finds its way through plane trees and rocks, offering visitors a vision of the Cyclades they never expected to encounter.
There is a moment, just before you arrive, when sound precedes sight. A soft rumble of falling water, almost out of place in the Cyclades, prepares you for something unlike anything else in the Aegean. A few more steps, and the landscape opens up: plane trees, rocks draped in green moss, and water flowing between them, forming small pools as clear as glass.
Welcome to the Pythara Waterfalls, in Apoikia on Andros — a spot many visitors, not without reason, call “Fairy Village.”
Andros is the northernmost and second-largest island of the Cyclades, yet it looks nothing like the image we have come to expect of this island group. Here, water is not scarce — on the contrary, it takes center stage. Springs, streams, watermills scattered across the countryside, and forested slopes come together in a landscape shaped by the island’s distinctive terrain and hydrology.
Apoikia, built at the foot of Mount Petalo, lies at the heart of this singularity. The mountain’s springs continuously feed the area’s streams, keeping the vegetation lush even during the dry summer months.
Access to the waterfalls is via a short, easy path, suitable for every age and fitness level. As you go along, the vegetation grows denser: plane trees, reeds, moss and wildflowers create a natural tunnel of shade.
The sound of water accompanies you at every turn, shifting between a whisper and a lively babble, depending on the season and the level of the springs.
The water descends gradually, tier by tier, forming a series of small pools with crystal-clear waters. Light filtering through the foliage creates shimmering reflections on their surface, while the surrounding rocks have been smoothed by centuries of flow.
It is a scene that captivates photographers and nature lovers alike, as the image shifts with the time of day and the quality of the light.
The steady presence of water sustains a small but rich ecosystem. Birds, insects and small animals find refuge here, while the moisture keeps the vegetation alive throughout the year — a rarity by Cycladic standards.
The area is, in essence, a living testament to how the geology and climate of Andros created a microcosm different from the rest of the Aegean.
On Andros, water is not a scarce commodity — it is the protagonist of the landscape.Traditional view of the island
A visit to the Pythara Waterfalls is the ideal escape for those seeking calm and coolness, away from the bustle of busy beaches. The place invites quiet wandering, a moment’s breath beside the water, or simply a reminder that the Cyclades hide other, more secret, sides of themselves.
As you leave, the murmur of the water follows you a little further still — a cool memory that lingers.
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