Kefalonia

Kefalonia (Cephalonia) is the largest of the Ionian Islands, lying west of mainland Greece between Zakynthos and Lefkada. The island is defined by dramatic contrasts: Myrtos Beach presents a sheer white-pebble crescent between 200-meter limestone cliffs, while the underground Melissani Cave reveals a turquoise lake illuminated by midday sunlight through a collapsed roof. The Drogarati Cave, with its cathedral-like acoustics, has hosted concerts in its stalactite-covered chamber. At Katavothres near the capital Argostoli, seawater disappears underground only to resurface 14 km away at Melissani — a geological puzzle solved in the 1960s using dye tracers. Mount Ainos (1,628 m), the highest Ionian peak, hosts a protected fir forest found nowhere else on earth. The northern village of Fiscardo is the only settlement that survived the catastrophic 1953 earthquake with its Venetian architecture intact. The island produces Robola wine from indigenous grapes grown in terraced mountain vineyards.