Skaros Rock, below Imerovigli
Skaros was the island's medieval capital and one of five kastelia. The earthquakes of 1701 to 1711 emptied it. What is left is fragments, plus one chapel at the waterline.
€100 per person · 15:00 - sunset · Shared seats
Skaros Rock is the promontory below Imerovigli that carried Santorini's medieval capital, one of the island's five kastelia. Earthquakes between 1701 and 1711 emptied it and a nineteenth-century one finished the walls. What is left is fragmentary, plus the whitewashed chapel of Panagia Theoskepasti on the seaward side.
It sits a few minutes north of Fira by boat, and from the rim it is easy to miss, because it hides in front of the village it belongs to.
Skaros from the caldera path, and Skaros from a boat
| From the caldera path | From a boat below | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting there | About 550 m on foot from the church of Agios Georgios in Imerovigli to the top of the rock, 650 m to the chapel. Free. | In view from the Fira panorama on every cruise; the water taxi to Ammoudi runs right beneath it. |
| What you see | The top of the rock, the fragments of wall, and the view back along the rim. | The whole mass in profile, brown against the white line of Imerovigli, chapel a white dot at its foot. |
| Theoskepasti | Reached by the path curling round the seaward side. Several sources call the final section genuinely unsafe. | Directly in front of you. The seaward face is the side the chapel stands on. |
| The height | Imerovigli sits on the highest part of the rim, around 350 m, against roughly 260 m at Fira. | You are at sea level, looking up all of it at once. |
| Effort | A steep descent, then the same climb back, in full sun. | None. |
Every catamaran cruise sees Skaros in profile from the Fira panorama, across the water. The boats that pass directly beneath it are the water taxi between Fira Old Port and Ammoudi, and the full-day charter when it extends north.
What survives, and what does not
Skaros was one of the five kastelia, the fortified settlements of Santorini, and the island’s capital until the eighteenth century. Two build attributions circulate and we give both: 1207, by Marco Sanudo, then ruler of the Cyclades; and a window of 1205 to 1230 under Venetian rule.
The earthquakes of 1701 to 1711 are credited with emptying it, and a nineteenth-century one took down what was left. Today there are fragments on a rock, not a castle.
The village above carries the other half of the story. Imerovigli means the daytime lookout. It watched for the pirates the fort was built against.
Panagia Theoskepasti
The small whitewashed chapel at the base of the seaward side is Panagia Theoskepasti, the God-sheltered one. It is published as built by Venetian sailors in thanks for protection from Aegean pirates.
Almost every photograph of it is taken from above. From a boat it is a white mark low on brown rock, with the whole rim standing over it. It goes past on every run between Fira Old Port and Oia.
Want Skaros from the water?
Send us your date. We will tell you which boat puts you closest — the panorama turn on a cruise, or the water taxi right beneath the rock.
Call the harbour office+30 698 977 1888
Common questions
What is Skaros Rock?
A rocky promontory jutting into the caldera below Imerovigli, between Fira and Oia. It held one of Santorini’s five kastelia and was the island’s capital until the eighteenth century. Earthquakes emptied it, and what stands there now is ruin.
Is there anything left of Skaros castle?
Fragments. The earthquakes of 1701 to 1711 are credited with the abandonment, and a nineteenth-century earthquake destroyed what remained. Sources describe the site as ruined and the last stretch of path as unsafe. Go for the position, not the masonry.
Can you see Skaros Rock from a boat?
Yes, and better than you can from most of the rim. From the water it reads as a detached brown mass in front of the white line of Imerovigli, with the Theoskepasti chapel white at its foot. Every cruise sees it from the Fira panorama, and the water taxi to Ammoudi passes directly beneath it.
Can you walk out to Skaros and the chapel?
You can. The trail starts at the church of Agios Georgios in Imerovigli: roughly 550 m to the top, 650 m to the chapel, and access is free. It is steep both ways and unshaded, and the final climb is the part sources call unsafe.
Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi is a catamaran cruise and water taxi operator based in Fira, Santorini.
Updated August 2026