Exploring the Caldera: Getting to Know Santorini
Santorini is one of Greece’s crown jewels, a small group of islands in the southern Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. The largest of these islands, Santorini, is known for its local culture, amazing food, incredible beaches, traditional Greek scenery, and natural wonders.
The island’s natural history, however, set Santorini apart long before a tourist stepped foot there. Following a series of prehistoric volcanic eruptions, a remaining crater mostly sank into the sea. The islands of Santorini are the remaining eastern edge of that crater, known as a caldera. Here’s what you need to know about Santorini:
It has an explosive past.
Geologists’ research shows that Santorini formed through volcanic eruptions that happened over several thousand years. About 2 million years ago, according to research, Santorini was a small island free of volcanoes. During that time, undersea volcanoes west of Santorini released volcanic emissions. Over time, these omissions formed more small islands and two enormous volcanic mountains.
Eventually, the volcanic mountains converged with the small, non-volcanic mountains to make a big island — Santorini. Scientists believe that about 200,000 years ago, one of the volcanoes on the south side of the island had such a massive eruption that it collapsed into its empty volcanic chamber. This created what’s now known as the caldera.
Further volcanic activity over thousands of years repeated the event, deepening the caldera and shaping the half-moon of islands. The island group now consists of its main island Thera (popularly called Santorini); the smaller islands of Therasia, Aspronisi, and Palea Kameni; and Nea Kameni, which local residents call “the volcano.”
Santorini has been home to many civilizations.
The volcanic eruption that formed Santorini is referenced as far back as Plato’s writings. Archaeological findings show evidence of thriving civilizations living there as long as 4,000 years ago.
At that time, a Minoan civilization lived on the island. Like Pompeii, however, Santorini was covered in ash in a volcanic eruption. The civilization was destroyed (evidence of a Minoan village has been found at Akrotiri) and the island was left empty for hundreds of years. Ancient Greek historian Herodotus noted that the first re-settlers were Phoenicians, who arrived in the 13th century B.C. They named the island Kallisti, which means “the most beautiful.”
The island’s name was changed about 100 years later, when Dorians from Sparta made it their home and renamed it Thera, after Theras, their king. While Thera was mostly isolated from other Greek civilizations, it did adapt the Phoenician alphabet for written Greek. By the sixth century B.C., the island had built a mint and created a local currency.
However, over the next few centuries the island was ruled by outsiders as it became part of the Athenian Empire, the Roman Empire, and the Byzantine Empire. The first traces of Christianity on Santorini date back to the Episkopi of Thera, the island’s first church, which was built in the third or fourth century B.C.
Visitors will see several fortified settlements (the castles of Skaros, Pyrgos, Emporio, Akrotiri, and Agios Nikolaos) on the island. These are remnants of local residents protecting themselves from pirate raids in the 1500s. Other places to learn more about Santorini’s past are in Akrotiri and at the ancient Thera archaeological site on the top of Mesa Vouno mountain.
There’s lots to see at the caldera.
Santorini’s biggest town, Thira, hugs the rim of the caldera about 900 feet above the sea. The town is known worldwide through widely distributed images of its stark-white domes set against the rich blue sky and sea, and visitors who stay there can opt for a room with a stunning view overlooking the caldera.
A must-do during your stay in Thira is a visit to the caldera — and getting there can be an adventure unto itself. First, you must get to the port via a series of zigzagging paths. A traditional donkey ride is five euros each way. This reliable, long-established method of transporting people and goods up and down the cliff has been used for years.
A less intense method of travel is Thira’s cable car, a three-minute ride that can transport as many as 1,200 people an hour. All revenues from cable car tickets support the town and the donkey handlers. A third option is to walk down 588 stairs to the port. It’s a physically demanding feat, but those in decent shape with time to take the stairs at a slow pace will be treated to an amazing view.
Once at the port, you’ll take a boat to the caldera. The ride is about 10 minutes, and most tour operators will allow more than hour for exploring the active craters. It’s about a 20-minute walk to the top of the volcano, where you likely will see smoke and experience the strong smell of sulfur.
Tours also typically visit the hot springs on the island of Palea Kameni and stop in the bay at Agios Nicolaos, where visitors can dive off the boat and swim. If you choose a sunset tour, you’ll be treated to a magnificent view of the volcanic cliffs as you sip wine and sail around the caldera.
