The Dragon Cave near Mesi
Perhaps the most beautiful cave on the island of Naxos is located near the village of Mési, a good half hour’s walk from the village. It is small and very difficult to find, but well worth a visit.
view from the vicinity of the cave back towards the village Mesi
The cave can be reached via a narrow footpath. It is located slightly above the path, more or less marked by red dots.
Even if you are standing right next to it, the entrance to the cave is almost impossible to find without the help of a guide.
The entrance is so narrow that you can just about climb through.
Here from the inside climbing out.
The cave is quite small; here you can see the front room near the entrance.
looking back towards the entrance
Further inside, the walls of the cave are covered with the most amazing stalactite formations.
At the end of the first chamber you can climb through to the second chamber.
To do this, you have to crawl through next to these pillars.
As in the other caves of Naxos and in many emery mines, an endemic cave cricket lives in this cave (Dolichopoda naxia).
The dripping water creates strange formations on the cave ceiling.
The broken stalactites show a kind of “growth rings” inside.
Here the cave ceiling seems to sparkle from the many hanging drops of water.
A beautiful cave – not so easy to reach and almost impossible to find without a guide, but for this very reason still completely natural and unspoilt.
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