Blue Zone · Greece

Ikaria

On the island where people forget to die, the shops open at night, lunch ends with a nap and the tea is picked on the hillside that morning.

Longevity Index 83 · North Aegean · Blue Zone

Ikaria became famous when demographers found that one in three islanders reaches ninety and that dementia is rare. What they found on the ground was a way of life with no interest in schedules. The mountain villages of Raches keep their shops open until the small hours; people sleep late, nap after lunch and dance at the panigiria, the summer festivals, until dawn. Nobody wears a watch, and it is not a pose.

The food is the Greek diet at its most rural: wild greens gathered on the hills, chickpeas and lentils, potatoes, goat’s milk, honey, sourdough, olive oil in quantities that would alarm a dietitian, and herbal teas of sage, rosemary, wild mint and oregano that happen to be mild diuretics and anti-inflammatories. Wine is home-made and drunk with friends.

The island rewards a long stay. Rent a house in Christos Raches or near Armenistis, swim at Nas or the Seychelles beach, take the hot sea springs at Therma, and learn to do nothing without guilt. It is the hardest skill on this site and Ikaria teaches it best.

The longevity profile

Best months: May · Jun · Sep · Oct
Ideal stay: 10 to 14 days
Budget: €€€€
Night from: €90

Signature ritual: A siesta after lunch, every day, with the shutters closed.

A day in Ikaria

From first light to last light.

08:00
No alarm
You wake when you wake. A cup of mountain tea on the terrace, the sea somewhere below.
09:00
Greens
A walk on the hillside with a bag: wild chicory, fennel, sage for the evening tea.
11:00
The sea
A swim at Nas under the old temple of Artemis, or at Seychelles beach, reached by a rough path.
14:00
Lunch
Chickpea soup, horta with lemon and oil, goat’s cheese, sourdough, a glass of the neighbour’s wine.
15:00
Siesta
Two hours. The whole island does it.
18:00
Therma
The warm mineral springs by the sea, followed by a cold plunge in the Aegean.
22:00
Panigiri
A village festival with goat stew, wine by the jug and the circle dance that goes on until three.

Sleep Mind & Stress Nourishment

Good to know

Tips for Ikaria.

Fly to Samos and take the ferry, or fly direct to Ikaria in summer; the island is small but the roads are slow.
Christos Raches is the village where everything happens at night; book a house, not a hotel.
Summer festivals (panigiria) run from June to September; ask locally, the dates are on church walls, not websites.
Take the mountain teas seriously: buy dried sage, rosemary and wild mint from the village and drink them at home.
Nothing opens when it says it opens. Bring a book and an appetite for waiting.

Design a trip to Ikaria What does a week cost?

Frequently asked questions

Why is Ikaria called the island where people forget to die?

The phrase comes from a newspaper article about a Greek war veteran who returned to Ikaria with a terminal diagnosis and lived another thirty years. The island has one of the highest rates of people over ninety in the world.

What do Ikarians eat?

Wild greens, legumes, potatoes, goat’s milk and cheese, olive oil, honey, sourdough bread, herbal teas and home-made wine. Little meat, little sugar, almost no processed food.

Is Ikaria good for a first Greek island trip?

Only if you want quiet. There is no nightlife in the resort sense, few luxury hotels and a lot of hills. If that sounds right, it is the best island in Greece.

Journeys here