The great chamber
Massive formations at nearly a hundred metres down.
Kondephy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zde — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zde — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Zde — CC BY-SA 4.0
**A cave whose visitors have been carving their names on its walls since antiquity** — on the small island of **Antiparos** opposite Paros. It is among the oldest documented "tourist" caves in the world: **inscriptions and names cut into the stalagmites** date from the Hellenistic period — including one attributed to a commander of Alexander's era — followed by carvings from every period since, **among them Lord Byron's name**, cut during his visit in the early 19th century. ⚠ Those inscriptions are **historic damage**, not a merit — but they are now part of the cave's record. In **1673** something strange happened here: the French ambassador held **Christmas Mass** inside the cave before hundreds of people — and **the stalagmite used as an altar** still stands inside. The descent is a **long stair** dropping some 100 metres to a large chamber of massive formations. ⚠ And it is a **hard stair**: about 400 steps.
Massive formations at nearly a hundred metres down.
The formation used as an altar at the 1673 Mass.
Names cut over two thousand years, Byron's among them.
Antiparos, 84007 Greece
**A very short ferry — among the easiest island crossings in Greece.** ✅ **The main route**: drive to **Pounta** on Paros's west coast (about 10 km from Parikia), then a ferry of **only about 7 minutes** to Antiparos, **carrying cars** and running frequently all day. **That means you take your own car** — which matters, because the cave is about 11 km from Antiparos port. ✅ **The alternative**: a **passenger boat from Parikia** straight to Antiparos town — longer (about 30 minutes) and seasonal, **and it does not carry cars**; from there you need a local bus or taxi to the cave. ✅ **A local bus on Antiparos** serves the cave seasonally — check its timetable. ⚠ **Allow a full half day** for the trip: ferry, road, cave and return. ✅ **And make a day of it**: Antiparos is a quiet, attractive island with excellent beaches (**Soros** and **Agios Georgios**) and a pleasant small town — so do not turn back the moment you come out of the cave.
**No — they are permanent damage, and the cave is an example of what not to do.** ✅ **What happened**: names and dates were cut into the cave's formations **over two thousand years**: Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and European inscriptions from the age of travellers — **Lord Byron's among them**, at a time when carving one's name was ordinary behaviour for an educated visitor. ⚠ **Why it is damage**: a stalagmite or stalactite grows at **a few millimetres a century** — so a scratch taking a second **erases centuries** and is never repaired. Touching a formation alone leaves skin oils that block calcite deposition and stop its growth. ✅ **Why the old carvings are not removed**: because removing them would be **further damage**, and because they have themselves become **a historical record** of the cave's visitors across the ages — so they are preserved and explained. ⚠ **What is clearly asked of you**: **touch no formation**, **carve nothing**, **use no flash**. The old inscriptions are **not an invitation** but a warning written in stone.