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The island of Kalamos , the largest of a mini-archipelago west of Astakos, is essentially a partly wooded mountain rising abruptly from the sea. Though officially part of Lefkadha in the Ionian group, all utility and transport links are to the mainland opposite. In summer there are usually a few yachts moored in the small harbour below the main village, Hora, but otherwise the island, with a permanent population of about three hundred, sees few visitors and is ill equipped to host them. The only regular connection is a daily kaiki from Mytikas, which leaves the mainland at about noon and returns from the island at 7.30am the next day; in summer the same craft may do group day-trips, but otherwise you must charter the entire boat for ?21 (one way). There is just one place to stay in Hora - rooms kept by the Lezentinos family (tel 06460/91 238; up to ?24) - but it only operates during July and August, when it will probably be full anyway, so come with camping gear if you intend to stay the night (though even this is difficult, given the lack of flat ground). HORA , spread out among gardens and olive groves on the south coast, largely survived the 1953 earthquake which devastated so many of the Ionian islands, though there's been no lack of insensitive building since. There are two basic kafenia/tavernas and a "supermarket" by the harbour, plus a bakery and sweetshop higher up, next to a post office . The gravelly village beach , fifteen minutes southwest (follow the seaward lane from the quay, bearing left at every option) has no reliable facilities; the much better beach of Merithia lies twenty minutes northeast of the port, via a rough scramble along the shore. Your reward will be 500m of sand and fine gravel which could easily fit in all the tourists Kalamos is ever likely to get, and this could be one of the better places to camp, though there's no shade or fresh water. Kastro , an old fortified settlement at the north tip of the island facing Mytikas, is linked to the port by a seven-kilometre asphalt road; the ninety-minute walk is drudgery, despite pine-shade and views, so try and hitch the sparse traffic. The small, five-bastioned castle here may possibly be Byzantine, and surveyed the straits between here and Mytikas, as suggested by the name of the road's-end hamlet 2km beyond, Episkopi ("Overlook"). Its walls are surrounded by a dozen or so houses, mostly roofless and abandoned, and the overgrown bailey is now used by villagers to keep their hens and sheep. A spring just above the road provides water, and a damp church of Ayios Nikolaos huddles beside the fortifications. Down towards Kastro's harbour, a few more houses are still inhabited, though there's no shop or cafe. Small, exquisite beaches dot the coast between Hora and Kastro, though they can only be seen and reached by sea, not from the road. Southwest of hora, a broad mule-and-tractor track leads to Kefali (Porto Leone) , near the  © 2003 by Rough Guides Ltd. as trustee for its Authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd. Buy the book here!
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island's southern tip, which shelters a deep bay protected in all weathers and thus beloved of Ionian yacht flotillas. The lower village has been deserted since the 1953 earthquake; a higher, pirate-proof settlement, nearly invisible now in its dereliction, was abandoned a few centuries ago. It's a shadeless, two-hour walk across scrub-covered mountainside from Hora, with only views across to the neighbouring island of Kastos to compensate; as ever in this region, you're best off going by boat.
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