Spinalonga (Kalydon)

Spinalonga is a small island in the Bay of Elounda in eastern Crete, dominated by a well-preserved Venetian fortress and the ruins of the town that grew up inside it. The Venetians built the fortress in 1579 to control the entrance to the Gulf of Mirabello and held it for 45 years after the Ottomans captured the rest of Crete — the last Venetian outpost to fall (1715). The Greek government then used the island as a leper colony from 1903 to 1957.

Short boat trips run from Elounda and Agios Nikolaos throughout the day in summer. The island can be walked in about an hour — the Venetian fortifications, the Ottoman mosque, the leper colony buildings, and the views across the Gulf of Mirabello are all within easy reach. The colony's history has been widely publicised through Victoria Hislop's novel The Island, which has increased visitor numbers significantly. Come early in the morning for a calmer experience.

things to do sight
A story
Spinalonga operated as a leper colony from 1903 to 1957 — one of the last in Europe. At its peak, around 1,000 people lived on the island, exiled from their families and from Cretan society. The island had its own economy, its own church, and a degree of self-government; one patient, Epaminondas Remoundakis, wrote a memoir about life there that was later published and became widely read in Greece. The last patient left in 1957, when effective treatment for leprosy became available.