Spinalonga: The Island Fortress and Former Leper Colony in Crete

Spinalonga is a small, barren island at the mouth of the Elounda lagoon in eastern Crete, a short boat ride from the coast. Inside its Venetian walls stand an Ottoman village and the houses of one of the last leper colonies in Europe, which closed in 1957. After Knossos, it is the most visited archaeological site on Crete. An hour on the island is enough to walk through all three chapters of its story.

What is Spinalonga?

Spinalonga is a dry, rocky islet just off the coast, ringed by thick stone walls built to guard the harbor. Boats land you at Dante's Gate, the entrance once used by patients arriving for life. Beyond it, the village lanes lead past houses with pebble courtyards and walls that still carry layer upon layer of old whitewash.

The island's original name was Kalydon, also written Calydon. The Venetians called it Spinalonga, from words meaning "long thorn," and that name has stuck.

The atmosphere is quietly eerie. Doorsteps still show traces of children's games. At the entrance an inscription tells visitors to leave hope behind, and a small plaque at the cemetery asks for respect toward the souls who did not get away. Greece added the fortress to its UNESCO World Heritage tentative list in 2014.

What is the history of Spinalonga?

Spinalonga was once joined to the Kolokytha peninsula beside it. In the 16th century the Venetians cut through the land to make it an island. Between 1579 and 1586 they built a fortress there to protect the harbor and the salt pans that were so valuable to their trade, and to hold off pirates and the Ottoman fleet. The fortress had double walls, stern towers and, by 1630, 35 cannons. After Heraklion fell to the Ottomans in 1669, Spinalonga stayed Venetian. It finally surrendered in 1715, after a three-month blockade emptied its food stores.

Ottoman families then built their homes on the old Venetian foundations. The village grew into the largest Muslim commercial center on Mirabello Bay, and by 1881 it was home to 1,112 people. Many of their two-story houses and shops still stand.

In 1903 the Cretan State chose the island for a leper colony. Patients came from across Crete and, after Crete joined Greece in 1913, from all over the country. The early years were miserable: the colony had no real organization, little medicine and almost no hope. In 1936 a patient and law student named Epaminondas Remoundakis arrived and founded a brotherhood to fight for better conditions. Houses were whitewashed, a road was opened around the island, and a cinema and a theater went up. Classical music played from a loudspeaker in the streets. Residents fell in love and married, about 170 couples in all, and 154 children were born on the island. They ran a coffee shop and a barbershop, and a priest who was not ill chose to live among them.

A drug that could treat leprosy was found in 1948, and the leprosarium shut for good in 1957, once the final 20 patients had been transferred to a hospital in Athens. The last resident, a priest, left in 1962. The empty island was looted, and pieces of its houses now decorate luxury hotels in Elounda. It was declared an archaeological site in 1976. Victoria Hislop's 2005 novel "The Island" and its Greek television adaptation made it famous far beyond Crete.

How do you get to Spinalonga?

Boats to Spinalonga run from Plaka, Elounda and Agios Nikolaos. Heraklion is the best arrival point for this corner of Crete, and the drive from Heraklion to Agios Nikolaos takes about an hour.

• Plaka sits directly opposite the island, about half a mile away.
• Elounda: the crossing takes about 15 to 20 minutes, and the boats often include a tour around the Kolokytha peninsula. Many trips add a loop around the Kolokytha peninsula.
• Agios Nikolaos: a full outing. Departures from Agios Nikolaos happen in the morning, and the boats come back in the afternoon, often with a lunch stop and a swim off the beaches behind the Kolokytha peninsula.

What does it cost, and when is it open?

In winter the site keeps very limited hours. The admission ticket comes on top of the boat fare, and reduced tickets are available. Boat fares vary by departure point and type of trip, so confirm what is included before you buy.

When is the best time to visit?

Summer brings frequent boat departures and open days on the site. It also brings the crowds. With hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, you won't have the island to yourself, though it feels far calmer than a place like Dubrovnik. Sunny summer afternoons are the busiest. The empty lanes feel far closer to the island's past than they do among summer tour groups.

How long do you need, and what should you bring?

Allow about an hour. That is enough time for Dante's Gate and the village lanes. Stay longer if you want to walk the circuit road slowly and take in the view back across the water to Plaka. Bring a swimsuit if your boat trip includes a beach stop.

What should you pair it with nearby?

Elounda, a luxury resort town on the lagoon, looks straight out at the island fortress. South of town, a narrow strip of land links the Kolokytha peninsula to Crete, with a small pebble beach along it. Tucked away behind the restaurants on this strip, you can find the ruins of an early Christian basilica at Poros Elounda. Its mosaic floor of dolphins looks more like the floor of a Roman villa than a church, and the site is so little known that you may have it to yourself. Close by are the old salt pans, worked from the 15th century until 1972. On a clear, windless day you can spot the ruins of the ancient city of Olous under the shallow water.

Save Knossos for a separate day out of Heraklion, where Bus Nr. 2 runs from the city to the palace.