Kohilari (Kochylari) Beach
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A report from 2015 identifies a fabulous beach on the north coast which is easily accessible by road (see on Street View). From the point where the island is at its narrowest the soft golden sands and dunes of Kohilari beach stretch north east for over 1.25miles (2km). Although there is an established kite surfing centre at Kohilari, the beach is otherwise relatively unknown.
18°C
2015: When our contributors visited in early October it was deserted apart from a couple of kite surfers, a few walkers and very occasionally, a quad bike or scrambling bike taking advantage of being able to take a long uninterrupted run along this amazing shoreline. The beach is large enough for this not to be a problem and these other beach users were certainly not intrusive. Even the bikers didn’t spoil the tranquillity of this beautiful location. Our correspondents say although there were one or two kite surfers out on the waves, the kite centre was closed. They met a couple of fellow British naturists close to the northern end of the beach who had been visiting the beach since mid-September and who said the kite centre had been closed while they had been there and to their knowledge had not been in use in 2015.
Apart from the area around the kite centre, the beach is unmanaged and as the kite centre was closed there were no facilities on any part of the beach. Other than the canopy at the kite centre and a few scrubby bushes in the dunes there is no shade on Kohilari so if visiting it is advisable to bring some form of shade and plenty to drink.
As might be expected, being popular with kite surfers, this part of the coast can be breezy but our contributor’s say it did not cause them any significant problem. However, the prevailing onshore winds do tend to bring in seaweed, jetsam and flotsam. This mostly seems to accumulate at the south west end of the beach so don't be put off if entering from the road at that end (see on Street View). Depending on the direction of the wind, the seaweed drifts in one or other direction along the beach and piles up in just a few places so most of the shoreline is clear. Marine debris has been cleared from the area around the kite centre but further away it is perhaps the only thing to spoil this beach. That said the sand is clean… just find yourself a nice spot and if the sea has washed up anything in the vicinity it really only takes a few minutes to gather it up.
Perhaps a little disturbing, there were a few small piles of buoyancy aids… A stark reminder of the plight of migrants prepared to risk making the sea crossing from Turkey in the most unsuitable of craft. This clearly had a negative impact on tourism in Kos during 2015 and whilst not making light of this terrible situation our contributor says it may in part be why this wonderful beach was so empty. Undoubtedly some parts of Kos, notably in the east, had problems coping but other than these few poignant reminders, the west of Kos was completely unaffected.
The gently shelving sandy seabed makes entering the water easy. The water is clean and when the wind is light, crystal clear. A little more wind and waves can be expected which does stir up the sandy seabed. There are no noticeable currents so it is great either for swimming or jumping in the waves. There is plenty of space for all on this beach so in the interests of safety swimmers should keep clear of the marked area used by kitesurfers.
Our contributors visited several of the beaches in the west of Kos and all in all, despite the litter and lack of facilities, this beach was by far their favourite in Kos and possibly in any of the Greek islands they have been to.
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