Volimes — The Village Everyone Passes Through and Few Actually See
Volimes sits at the end of the long mountain road that most Zakynthos visitors travel to reach the Navagio viewpoint. They drive through the village in a hurry — noting the line of roadside shops selling tablecloths and honey — and then drive back through it on the way home. This is a significant waste of a genuinely interesting place.
Volimes is actually three distinct settlements: Ano (upper) Volimes, Kato (lower) Volimes, and Meso (middle) Volimes, spread across the mountain ridgeline at around 350 metres elevation. Together they constitute the largest community in northern Zakynthos and the cultural centre of a part of the island that has historically been separate — geographically, economically, and temperamentally — from the southern coastal areas where tourists concentrate.
The Craft Tradition
Volimes has been known for textile production since Venetian times, when the area supplied woven goods to the island’s urban population. Lacemaking, embroidery, weaving — these are skills passed down through female family lines with a seriousness that makes the tourist-shop tablecloths seem like a footnote to the real story.
The real story happens in private houses where women who have been weaving and lacing since childhood produce work of genuine quality. Handmade Zakynthos lace — intricate needle lace and bobbin lace using local techniques developed over centuries — is available if you know where to find it, but it costs what it should cost (more than the shops charge for machine-made imports), and finding it requires wandering into the village itself rather than shopping the main road.
Kyria Maria Tsilivigkou on the upper road of Ano Volimes is the name locals will give you if you ask seriously about lace. She’s been making it for over fifty years and teaches three other women in the village. Her work is extraordinary and priced accordingly. She sells from home; knock on the blue door and introduce yourself.
Honey and Local Produce
The mountain landscape around Volimes — thyme, oregano, sage, wildflowers in spring — produces honey of exceptional quality. Several local beekeepers sell directly: dark, intensely flavoured thyme honey that bears no resemblance to generic Greek honey, and lighter floral varieties from spring meadow plants.
The weekly market (Fridays in summer) brings village producers together in the main square of Kato Volimes. Honey, olive oil, dried herbs, local wine, homemade cheese — this is genuine produce meeting, not a tourist market.
Anafonitria Monastery
Three kilometres south of Volimes, the 15th-century monastery of Anafonitria sits in a hollow among olive trees. It’s associated with Agios Dionysios — Zakynthos’ patron saint allegedly spent time here — and retains its medieval tower and original church interior. It’s one of the few pre-earthquake buildings on the island to survive substantially intact.
The monastery is active (monks are in residence) and open to visitors at specific times. Dress appropriately: shoulders covered, no shorts. The setting is peaceful in a way that contrasts sharply with the tourist activity on the coast below.
The Navagio Viewpoint
Yes, the famous view is five kilometres from Volimes village, and yes, everyone goes there. The viewpoint is on the western cliff edge — a spectacularly exposed platform above the sheer 200-metre drop to Navagio beach. The beach, the shipwreck, the azure water — from here you get the image that’s on every Zakynthos postcard.
Arrive before 10:00 or after 18:00 to avoid the tour bus rush. Fence is required viewing; the drop-off is sheer and substantial.
Getting There
Volimes is 35 kilometres from Zakynthos Town via the northern mountain road — about 50 minutes of driving on winding but well-maintained roads. There is no regular bus service. Car rental is necessary.
