Tilos travel guide

Tilos island Greece travel guide

Tilos a small island of the Dodecanese between Nisyros and Halki on the marine way from Kos to Rhode. The island is small amd rocky and the the highest mountain of Profitis Elias is about 612 metres high. Livadia is the largest village of Tilos and the main port of the island. There are other 2 villages Agios Antonios and Megalo Chorio.

The local industry is mainly agriculture and the last years tourism is growing due to the findings in the cave Charkadio in the area Myssaria remains of dwarf elephants in the 70s, the island start attracting the international tourism. Tilos has some archaeological sites and you can visit the Paleontological museum in chora, near the capital was the temples of Apollo and Pallas Athena. In the Middle Ages, a castle was built in Myssaria.

Tilos in ancient times was called Agathoussa, the first inhabitants of Tilos were from Rhodes. During the Trojan War the island was probably inhabited by the Dorians. In antiquity, Tilos renowned for various perfumes and ointments and from the 2nd century BC was a municipality of Rhodes. In medieval times was known to the Genoese merchants under the name of Episkopi.

The Byzantine Emperor Constantine moved settlers from Tilos to Cyprus in the area that now is called Tilyria. Also in the middle ages, Tilos was occupied by Saracens and Venetians. Later, the island was occupied by the Knights of St john. When Rhodes was conquered by the Turks Tilos followed the fate of the other Dodecanese islands. Until the end of the 18th century the island suffered from pirates attacks like many other islands in the Aegean. During the first decades of the 20th century Tilos was occupied by the Italians like the rest of the Dodecanese until 1948 when was unified with the rest of Greece.

Useful Telephones

Police : +30.22410. 44222
Port Authorities : +30.22410. 44350
First Aid Centre : +30.22410. 44210
Municipality: +30.22410. 44212