Ikaria, an island of the Aegean, is about 40km long and 3 to 9km wide. Ikaria has an unbroken coastline because it's a mountain peak from which there are no projecting arms to create fjord-like inlets or natural coves and it occupies an open space in the Ikarian Pelagos, which exposes it to high winds. In the summer, the meltemia, the Etesians winds of classical antiquity coming from the north and/or northeast, make the Ikarian sea the section of the Aegean encomprassing Ikaria, the most turbulent in the Aegean.
Mountain Atheras, known as Pramnos in antiquity, blanketed in pine and holm oak forests, runs like a wall along almost the whole length of the island. The mountain slopes steeply towards the south and spreads gently towards the north, dividing the island in two, creating a unique climate.
Ikaria is one of the largest islands of the Aegean Sea. The vivid relief surface, the series of ravines, rolling hills and foothills make it seem even larger. This canvas is painted with gurgling streams and lush vegetation, unlike most of the Aegean islands. The waters of many of the springs are medicinal and varied in chemical content and temperature level. A great number of these springs have still not been commercially exploited.
In 1972 Ikaria acquired its first port. The island is scattered with many villages (46), which are not densely built up as groves and vineyards surround each house. Most villages are located in the mountains because in the Middle Ages the inhabitants avoided the coasts for fear of pirate raids that then ravaged the Aegean.Ikaria can be separated into five landscape regions, so different amongst them that one may think they belong to entirely different islands. One region includes the broader district of Agios Kyrikos, on the southern part of the island, from the village Plagia to the villages of Katafygio and Therma. Chrysostomos beach and Nicaris rock is where island oral tradition has it that mythical Ikarus fell from the sky and gave his name to the island, perhaps even infusing the inhabitants with his particular spirit of untamed independence.The second region is the eastern cape of Pharos, where the island's airport is located. There the landscape is made up of low treeless hills, beaches of fine pebble and sand with sea willows growing at the water's edge, reminiscent of the Cycladic island land and seascape.
The northern part of the island, in the broader region of Ikaria's second port, called Evdilos, up to the village of Kambos (ancient Oenoe), is referred to as Messaria. The landscape here is studded with villages, settlements and fields of crops, hills, valleys and gorges without the steep cliffs of the southern region. Continuing on towards the west, the expansive region of Raches stands out with its thick pine forests in amongst which one may make out small groves of chestnut trees, walnut trees and vineyards. This is the region where the longest beaches of the island can be found with their thick white sand providing a striking contrast to the blue sea and greenery. The last region is on the western coast of the island running from north to south. It is named after the Cape Pappa and includes the villages Karkinagri, Manganiti, Amalos and the Pezi mountain plateau. Here the landscape is marked by steep mountain Melissa that drops straight down to the sea at some points. Huge granite boulders are scattered everywhere, like gigantic marbles, smoothed by the rain and winds of thousands of years.
