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Amorgos Island, Greece

Situated in the Aegean Sea, Amorgos island is part of the Cyclades island of Greece. Lying quiet close to the Dodecanese island group, Amorgos island is one of the top ten tourist destinations in Greece as it offers a fine combination of scenic landscapes, fantastic beaches and antiquities. Because of its natural beauty, Amorgos island has been chosen by the filmmaker Luc Besson for the film "The Big Blue".

Like other Cyclades islands, Amorgos island has hot summers with mild winters. However, in midsummer, Amorgos island becomes so crowded that it is better to avoid going there during that time.

The best time to visit the place is around April and May when the climate is relatively cooler and there are lesser number of tourists. No airport is there in the Amorgos Island and the nearest ones are in the islands of Mykonos and Naxos. Tourists can flew to those islands and then take ferries to reach Amorgos. Otherwise, there are regular ferry and catamaran services from the port, Piraeus.

Scattered all over the Amorgos island are important archaeological sites which prove that the island has been inhabited from the pre historic times. Some of the objects found in the ruins are taken to National Archaeological Museum of Athens. The three major independent cities of Amorgos island are Minoa, Arkessini and Aegiali. The existence of autonomous constitution and use of same currency in the three cities still continues to this day. The main harbor of the island is Katapola in the south west with Aegiali being another port in the north east.

The most famous place to visit in the Amorgos island is the Monastery of Panagia Hozoviotissa located near Chora, the capital of the island. Chora is a beautiful village situated on the mountain having a Venetian castle, beautiful churches, white cubic houses and paved streets. Though there is no hotel in Chora but one can look for rooms to let. It is from here people can get bus to reach the magnificent Monastery of Hozoviotissa. Monastery of Panagia Hozoviotissa is a structure built in the 11th century. The monastery was made as a tribute to the Grace of Panagia, popularly known as Virgin Mary. The monastery is the treasure house of many beautiful artifacts and icons but it is the architecture that just stun every visitor. However the most breath taking is the view of the crystalline blue waters of the Aegean Sea with sandy beaches from the windows of the monastery.

To visit different towns like Minoa, Aegiali, Arkessini, Katapola there are bus services but it would be better to hire cars as it gives you a freedom to move around independently. Other interesting places of sightseeing are Church of Panagia Katappliani near Katapola, Hellenistic towers in Arkessini, acropolis of Aegiali called Vilga, ancient Minoan settlement and there are few more monasteries.

To enjoy your holidays beside seaside, make a trip to the famous beaches of the island like Agia Anna beach, Katapola beach or else you can go for trekking at Amorgos. In all the major towns of Amorgos island, there are guest houses, hotels, studio apartments where you can get accommodations. Over the years, there have been developments to facilitate tourism and tourists get every possible amenities and facilities for a comfortable holiday.