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During summer at least, the hamlet of ALYKI on the south coast is a better bet for staying than Psathi and Hora; it only takes about thirty minutes to walk there on the paved road that forks left just before the Villa Maria . Alyki is named after the salt pan which sprawls between a rather mediocre beach with no shade or shelter, and has a pair of rooms - Sardis (tel 02870/51 458; ?34-42) and Passamihalis (tel 02870/51 340; ?24-33) - and simple tavernas . You can stroll west one cove to Bonatsa for better sand and shallow water, though you won't escape the winds. Passing another cove you come to the even more attractive beach of Kalamitsi, with better shade and the good little taverna and rooms of Ventouris (?34-42). To the east, between Alyki and Psathi, the smaller, more secluded beach of Skala is better for camping. The 700m coarse-sand beach of Ellinika is 45-minutes' walk west of Alyki: starting on the road, bear left - just before two chapels on a slope - onto a narrower track which runs through the fields at the bottom of the valley. Divided by a low bluff, the beach is bracketed by two capes and looks out over Dhaskalio islet; it tends to catch heavy weather in the afternoon, and there are no facilities here. Another road leads northeast from Hora to a beach and radioactive springs at Prassa , 7km away. The route takes in impressive views across the straits to Poliegos, and there are several shady peaceful coves where it's possible to camp out. Innumerable goat tracks invite exploration of the rest of the island; in the far northwest, on Kimolos's summit, are the ruins of an imposing Venetian fortress known as Paleokastro . The local community has plans to open an official campsite at Klima Bay 2km northeast of Hora, once it has relocated the rubbish dump that currently befouls the place.
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