Eftalou Hot Springs and Golden Beach, Lesvos Island, Greece

On the island of Lesvos, just 3.5 kilometers east of Molyvos, you’ll find the natural hot springs of Eftalou, a healing destination for millennia.  Here, therapeutic springs bubble from under the sea to be captured in an ancient communal bathhouse as well as private pools.

These could be the hottest hot springs in Europe at a nearly scalding 45ºC (113ºF) which means you won’t be soaking for hours but will be alternating between cool sea dips and dips in the hot pot.  The springs are rich in minerals and highly radioactive which apparently is part of their curative power.  I’m not sure how all that radioactivity is healthy, but hey, I’m no Marie Curie, what do I know?  People have flocked to these springs, believing them to be a powerful cure, for centuries.

Eftalou Hot Springs

The hot springs are only open in the warmer months.  If you’ve read about hours or opening dates elsewhere, do yourself a favor and call first.  I know the opening times are variable.  Call ahead if you plan to visit. +30-22530-71245.

Surprisingly, it’s not the curative hot springs that draw me to Eftalou.  

It’s the strange, beautiful geology; a colorful, exuberant riot of rock colors and shapes.  It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

The strange geology of Golden Beach

Walking along the shore, east of the hot springs, you’ll find nearly desolate “Golden Beach” with a single (excellent) taverna to quench your thirst and fill your belly.  Rockhounds will find specimens in a rainbow of colors and plentiful quartz.

Cliffs and boulders are swirly, stripy artworks.  Streaks of blacks, pinks, greens, and golds infuse the rocky landscape like an abstract painting.  Standing solitary on Golden Beach, admiring the Aegean Sea, with warm wind playing over the bizarre terrain, I feel such a strange energy; it feels like a place where one can conjure up magic.

Take the walk yourself, and you’ll see that Mother Nature already has.

Photos of Eftalou Hot Springs and Golden Beach (click to view):