AMAZING VIEW!

ENTRANCE:  Free

HOURS:   Open at all hours. The little church is sometimes closed. 

 
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THE WAY THERE:

Access to the Castle of the Knights is via the abandoned village of Chorio.

If you don't fancy the full walk from Emporio (the port), a minibus (or taxi) runs from to the village, leaving just the 20-minute climb from Chorio to the castle itself. 

It is worth every step of the way! Whenever you go, take plenty of suncream and water!

The walk usually happens in two stages:

1. From Emporio (the port town) to Chorio: about 3 km, taking roughly 45–60 minutes on a paved road.
2. From Chorio up to the castle itself: a steep 20-minute climb on foot, via a paved path past the Church of Panagia.

So all in, it's about 1 to 1.5 hours of walking from the port to the castle, mostly flat road followed by a short, steep uphill push at the end.

Whenever you go, take plenty of suncream and water!

INFO:

The Castle is located on the hill of St. Nicholas over the old village of Halki. It was built by the Knights of St. John in the 15th century over the ancient Hellenistic citadel. From there they were able to control the sea routes, the harbor and the Trachean peninsula. Inside the castle are the ruins of the medieval church of St. Nicholas. At the gate the emblem of the Grand Master of the knights Pierre d’Aubusson (1476-1503) is engraved.

The old village along with the castle is the most important archaeological site on the island. The now ruined medieval village is located in the shadow of the castle. It used to be the main village on the island and has been lived in permanently since the era of the Knights. It was inhabited until the mid 19th century providing shelter from pirates.

During the Turkish occupation, the castle was not modernized and was permanently abandoned. It was only used as an observation post.

This is a small castle that occupies an area of approximately 2,000 sq.m. within a perimeter of 260 meters. The shape is elongated following the ridge of the rock in the east-west axis.

From the ancient acropolis that pre-existed on the site, the gate stones and the lintel of the main entrance, the secondary gate on the south side and some other scattered parts that have been incorporated as spolia in the later constructions are preserved.

The church of Agios Nikolaos with remains of frescoes from the 15th and 17th centuries is preserved in its interior.

At the entrance to the castle, there is the built-in coat of arms of Pierre d’ Aubusson, who was the Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of St John between 1476 and 1503. Next to this is the deserted church of Agios Nikolaos, which has frescos dating from the 15th to 17th centuries.