Navagio Cove
The picturesque Navagio Bay is located on the Greek island of Zakynthos in the Ionian Sea off the southwestern coast of mainland Hellas. It is one of the most attractive and romantic corners of the Mediterranean.
Video: Navagio Bay
Contents- Highlights
- Extraordinary Event
- History of Navagio Bay
Spectacular events - Tourist information
- How to get there
Highlights
Navagio Bay appeared on the world tourist map thanks to a shipwreck that occurred here about 40 years ago. Actually, “Navagio” in Greek means “shipwreck”. Since then, a small merchant ship “Panayotis”, once washed ashore by the waves of an autumn Mediterranean storm, has been lying on the pebbly beach. In any other place the rusty hulk of the ship would look like an unattractive pile of scrap metal, but here, among the steep cliffs, this victim of shipwreck looks unexpectedly organic and even touching. There is a reason why Shipwreck Beach is consistently one of the top five most photographed beaches not only on Zakynthos, but also on all the resort Greek islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
.Extraordinary event
The 2018 velvet season at Navagio Beach was marred by a rock fall that collapsed on the afternoon of September 13 right onto the shore, crowded with sunbathers. Fortunately, there were no people in the rubble zone. But a few tourists were injured by the debris of scattered rocks and were taken to local hospitals. The beach was immediately closed. Specialists determined that the layer of stones had been washed away by the previous day’s rains. A month later, by decision of the island’s municipal authorities, the beach was reopened to the public, and now an emergency boat is constantly on duty in Navagio Bay.
.https://trevaladvisor.com/img%img/Buhta-Navagioreterte/navagio_22.jpg” alt=””/>‘
History of Navagio Bay
There are many rumors associated with the history of the Navagio Bay shipwreck. It is said that there were illegal aliens on board, plus some of the cargo was contraband. Local guides give different dates and even years of the shipwreck, and the country where the ship was coming from is called Turkey.
.
Many years after the disaster, the ship’s captain Haralambos Kotsoras, who became a celebrity in Greece, published his memoirs of the event. His memoirs state that the ship Panayiotis took on board a cargo of cigarettes and other goods in the Albanian port of Durres and then headed for Italy. The ship was assigned to the Greek port of Piraeus, but the crew included Italian sailors. Whether the cargo was officially declared is not known to the captain, but it is likely that the cigarettes were smuggled.
In early October 1980, the ship was caught in a storm off the coast of the island of Zakynthos. The ship’s engine failed, the ship lost control and hit underwater rocks. The sailor claims that his ship was not pursued by coast guard ships, but he himself broadcasted a distress signal and called for help from rescuers, but the waves prevented them from approaching the damaged ship. As for the years-long trial, it was, according to the captain’s version, conducted only because the locals had dismantled the goods on the shore, and many of them were found guilty of it. This seems to be true, because the islanders from ancient times considered the things thrown on the shore as their trophy and a gift of favorable fate. Anyway, it is only known for sure that the crew of the Panayiotis was rescued by lifeboats, and, fortunately, no one died in the raging waves. Now this dramatic event is called the most famous shipwreck in Greece, because the ship on a hard-to-reach beach has become a real hit of the tourist season on the island of Zakynthos.
.A few years ago, Navagio Bay with the hulk of the ship became a natural setting for the filming of the Korean blockbuster “Children of the Sun”. The adventure film, which was a success on the screens of cinemas in many countries of Southeast Asia, unexpectedly became a great advertisement for this picturesque place, and now among the guests of Zakynthos there are many tourists from South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand.
.
Spectacular competitions
What makes the beach special is that it is inaccessible from the land side. Vertical cliffs surrounding Navagio Bay rise to a height of 100 to 300 meters, and travelers can only cautiously look from above into the abyss at the bottom of which the beach is located. But there are desperate athletes who make mind-boggling cliff jumps with a parachute – basejumpers.
.Every summer, the international Summer BASE Jump Boogie competition is held here. The time of the competition is determined by weather conditions and wind strength. The starting platform is equipped on a steep 200-meter cliff. The jumper has only two or three seconds to open the parachute.
.
Over the course of five days, the best basejumpers from around the world make more than 300 jumps. The spectacle is not for the faint of heart. Beachgoers watch the flights with bated breath and greet the landed daredevils with applause.
.
Basejumping is a dangerous sport, competitions are sometimes accompanied by tragedies that cause horror to observers of the crazy flight. Such an accident happened in Navagio Bay at the 2012 competition – a jumper’s parachute failed to open and the athlete crashed.
.
Video: Basejumping in Navagio Bay
Tourist Information
The wild beach in Navagio Bay is not organized in any way, so as not to disturb its charm and natural beauty. We advise you to bring water and snacks, beach accessories, as well as an umbrella – if before noon you can hide from the hot Mediterranean sun under the rocks, in the afternoon there is no shade.
Another recommendation: the beach of Navagio faces directly west, seeing a stunning sunset here and capturing it in a photo or video is a must.
.End this short trip with a tour of the ancient monastery of St. George and lunch at the village tavern of Anafonitria.
.You can rent a car for your trip to Anafonitria through your hotel receptionist or online car booking service. The cost of renting a car on the island – from 20 € per day, with the end of the influx of tourists prices fall.
.
The beach season in Navagio Bay lasts from May to the end of September. The air temperature during this period varies within +22 … +32 ° C, the sea – from +22 to +25 ° C.
.
How to get there
There are two ways to see the romantic Navagio Bay. Since there is access only from the sea side, travelers arrive here by rented boats or pleasure boats as part of a sightseeing tour. The latter option involves a limited time disembarkation of boat passengers at Navagio Beach, then tourists explore the neighboring beaches.
.Ayios Ioannis and Porto Vromi are the nearest harbors where you can rent a boat to go to Navagio Beach. The voyage will last about 20 minutes. If you are lucky, you will be able to observe Caretta caretta turtles swimming nimbly in the sea. These rare Mediterranean animals are protected by Greek conservation laws.
.
In the off-season, the neighborhood boat rentals are not open, but you can arrange a trip to Navagio Bay with one of the local fishermen. He will bring you to the beach and pick you up at the agreed time. Swimming will be a bit cold, but you can have a romantic picnic here to enjoy absolute solitude in this amazing place, crowded with vacationers in summer.
.
