Atokos () is a small, uninhabited

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

off the coast of

Acarnania Acarnania () is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part ...

and is one of the most westerly and perhaps remotest of the Echinades Islands. , it had no resident population. It lies northeast of Ithaca and southwest of

Kastos Kastos () is a Greek island and a former community east of the island of Lefkada, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lefkada, of which it is a municipal unit. Until 1974, when it became pa ...

, just northeast of the main shipping and ferry channel between

Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...

in Italy and

Patras Patras (; ; Katharevousa and ; ) is Greece's List of cities in Greece, third-largest city and the regional capital and largest city of Western Greece, in the northern Peloponnese, west of Athens. The city is built at the foot of Mount Panachaiko ...

on the Peloponnese. From such large vessels you can get a reasonable view of the southwestern end (narrow aspect) of the island and its steep cliffs. To approach it and land requires a private boat, and safe anchorage is advisable only in calm weather at one of its two key anchorages: One House Bay on the east coast and Cliff Bay on the south coast. The former is the preferred option as it shelters boats from the prevailing northwest winds and has better access to the island via a pebbled beach and small flat hinterland. The island is administered by the municipality of Ithaca, but is a private island owned by the shipping magnate Panayiotis Tsakos. The island is uninhabited except for a few goats that roam freely around the island. These animals appear to be tended by a shepherd who visits and tends to the flock every fourth day as part of an agreement with the current owner. Visitors are allowed to land on the island. A small chapel has an open door to visitors and appears to be cleaned and well maintained. The chapel can be found by following a short path from the beach at One House Bay, and past the island's well and supply of brackish water. Confusingly, this small holy building is not the "one house" that gives the main bay its name. To locate the simple two-story house that gives the bay its name, follow another short path at the north end of the beach and through the noisy cicada-filled woods towards the foot of the main hill on the island. The house is locked but is habitable, presumably for use by the family owners who sometimes visit in September. The island was on the market in 2015 for €44 million with potential for hotel development, but as the island is inside a

NATURA 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

area and is close to the island of Oxia, which was sold in 2013 to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, for €4.9M, this price may not be reached easily.

References

{{Ithaca Islands of the Ionian Islands (region) Islands of Greece Landforms of Ithaca Private islands of Greece