It’s a tiny islet located within a semi-closed gulf connected to the Ionian Sea, off western Greece, a location that actually embodies the true essence of the utterly worn-out cliché of “hidden gem”.
Koronisia is an islet of the eponymous and mountainous Epirus province, in northwest Greece, that you’ll be hard-pressed to find in any tourist brochure. As such it’s the quintessence of the phrase “off-the-beaten-track” – another favorite cliché of travel sites.
With less than 170 permanent residents (2011 census) this more-or-less “inland island” has another distinction: it is primarily reached by a narrow strip of road extending for 6.5 kilometers into the shallow and clean waters of the Amvrakikos Gulf.
To use even a third cliché, reaching and visiting Koronisia has all the ingredients of an authentic Grecian “road trip”, combining a stunning natural setting of lagoons and wetlands teaming with waterfowl, sea turtles, stingrays, silver pelicans and even flamingos.
The road from the mainland ends at the tiny islet’s village, which hosts a noted lighthouse (Salaoras), an old customs house and a small but modern harbor that hosts the community’s caiques and fishing boats, which the locals use to catch the gulf’s plentiful seafood, including the renowned Amvrakikos shrimp.
An early Byzantine-era chapel on the islet dedicated to the Virgin Mary is dated to the 7th century and is the only remaining structure of a medieval monastery that no longer stands.
