The sculpted rocks
Smooth granite masses in organic shapes unlike ordinary island stone.
**A beach of smooth granite rocks sculpted by the sea into organic shapes** โ on the bay of Naoussa, and the strangest and most distinctive beach on Paros. The rock here is not sharp like the usual island stone but **smooth, curved and rounded**, shaped over thousands of years by wind and water into masses resembling bodies or petrified clouds. They divide the shore into **small sandy pockets** โ hence the name **Kolymbithres**, **"the basins"**. Each basin is its own little cove of clear shallow water, **holding only a few families** โ which gives you something rare: **privacy on a public beach**. โ The water is **very calm** because the rocks break the swell โ excellent for children. โ But it is **small**: the basins fill quickly in August.
Smooth granite masses in organic shapes unlike ordinary island stone.
Separate little coves giving rare privacy on a public beach.
The bay of Naoussa and its boats seen across the water.
Kolymbithres, Naoussa, 84401 Paros, Greece
**Slow weathering of granite โ a different process from what shapes ordinary island stone.** โ **The material**: most Cycladic rock is **limestone or marble**, which erodes by dissolving, leaving sharp edges and fissures. **Here the rock is granite** (a crystalline igneous rock), โ **which does not dissolve** but **crumbles grain by grain**, one thin layer at a time. โ **The process**: **sand-laden wind**, **salt spray** that crystallises in the pores and prises them apart, **wave action**, and **thermal expansion and contraction** between day and night all work on it in turn. The result is **relatively even erosion from every direction** โ edges are gradually rounded, surfaces polished, and organic curves form instead of sharp fractures. โ **This also explains the basins**: weaker parts of the rock eroded faster, hollowed out and filled with sand, while harder parts remained as barriers between them. โ **The timescale is thousands of years** โ so do not climb on them or break them.
**Each kind of visitor has a different beach here โ and Paros is small enough to reach them all in a day.** โ **For families and children**: **Kolymbithres** โ shallow calm water and small sheltered basins; and **Martselo** near Parikia, long, sandy and shallow with a bus. โ **For quiet**: **Lageri** and **Monastiri** on Naoussa bay โ calmer and less crowded, reached by boat from Naoussa. โ **For wind sports**: **Golden Beach (Chrissi Akti)** and **New Golden Beach** on the east coast โ โ deliberately **exposed to the meltemi**, so anyone wanting a calm swim should avoid them and anyone wanting windsurfing should go (championships are held there). โ **For visual drama**: **Kolymbithres** with its rocks, and small **Kolymbithres-adjacent Kolouri**. โ **A general Cycladic rule**: if the **north wind** gets up, move to a beach facing **south or west** โ and on Paros the **bay of Naoussa** is relatively sheltered.
Sign in to write your review of this place.
No reviews yet โ be the first.