Elafonisos

Elafonisos captivates anyone who visits it. No matter how many times you visit, there will always be something new to discover. The only island of Laconia, 500 meters from the opposite coast, is one of the few islands that can be reached by car.

Elafonisos is an ideal destination for nature lovers with rare flora and fauna. Tall dunes and rare sea cedrus decorate all the beaches of the island. Sunbathe and swim in the twin beaches of Simos and Sarakiniko that are among the best in the Mediterranean.Discover the secrets that lie in the other beaches of the island, each with its own beauty and uniqueness. At Panagia you can enjoy an idyllic sunset as the sun sets between its islands.

Explore the submerged Bronze Agee city in Pavlopetri, slumbering in the depths of the sea and time. Lake Stroggyli the protected wetland of the area, is a refuge for rare species of migratory birds with flamingos among them!

Elafonisos is located at the eastern entrance of the Laconic Gulf, west of cape Malea and north of the island of Kythera. A distance of 500 meters separates the island from the coast across (Pounta), which belongs to the Municipality of Elafonisos. Elafonisos has a total area of 22 sq. km. (18 sq. km within the island and 4 sq. miles outside) and a total perimeter of 31.2 km.

The history of Elafonisos dates back to the Neolithic period (6000-3500 BC) during which a brilliant and rare prehistoric civilization flourished, traces of which can be seen in Pavlopetri, the world' s oldest submerged town. From then on, the historical route of Elafonisos and of the surrounding area is associated with the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) and the occupation by the Athenians, Thucydides, the Romans, Byzantium, Castles and Vigles, Piracy, Don Quixote, The Venetian Battleships, the Portolans, the naval bases during the Greek Struggle for Independence, with Kapodistrias, the naval battle of Navarino and the Liberation of Greece.

The sea area of Elafonisos has for centuries been the site of cosmological legends such as the birth of Aphrodite in Kythera, the Three Graces in the Strait of Elafonisos, Paris and Helen during the Trojan war, the Cyclopes' Land and the journey of Odysseus, Glaucus, Silenus, Chiron, the labor of Heracles with the Centaurs and the worship of deities like Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon and others.

The first reference to the island's name is in an Arabic manuscript of the pirates' era (7th century), where the island is referred to as "Ashab al baqar", the "deer island", a name that is found again in nautical charts of the 16th century, where Elafonisos is called Isola di Cervi (Deer Island).