Navagio Beach | Zakynthos | The World's Most Famous Beach and Shipwreck

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George - The Shiny Greece Team (feat. ai)

Navagio Beach is a world-famous beach on the east side of the island of Zakynthos, near the mountain village "Anafonitria". The beach setting consists of crystal clear blue waters, white sand, impressive steep cliffs and a half-submerged ship's trunk, the Navagio Beach Shipwreck. Access to the beach is by sea only, by private boats or boats that depart daily from the city of Zakynthos and neighboring Porto Vromi.

Navagio Beach from Top of Cliff | Photo by: ID 22875193 © Tomas Marek, Dreamstime.com

The beach, whose normal name is Ai-Giorgis, was formed by the landslides of the last 100 years. According to residents, the beach in 1900 was very small with black stones and then gradually became a first beach to the point where the shipwreck is today and then the current one.

Navagio Beach in Early Spring from the Cliffs, cropped by Shiny Greece | Photo by: User:Alexignatiou, Navagio Zakynthou, CC BY-SA 3.0

Locals say that the Navagio Beach Greece Shipwreck happened in 1980. The ship was spotted by a marine patrol boat and was found carrying smuggled cigarettes. The ship was wandering for three days due to bad weather conditions between Kefalonia and Zakynthos due to mechanical failure. Eventually, the ship ran aground at Cape Schinari and the crew remained locked in a cave for two days.

Close Photo of Navagio | Photo by: Dora Sidiropoulou Kasimati, DSC 0170a, CC BY-SA 4.0

Afterwards, crossing an inaccessible mountainous area, the crew arrived in the Community of Volimi, where they informed the Police Station about the incident.

Beach and Shipwreck | Photo by: Dora Sidiropoulou Kasimati, DSC 0160a, CC BY-SA 4.0

At first, residents were alarmed by the environmental disaster they believed would create the ship with its cargo, and the economic disaster they thought would cause the island's tourism.

But a short time later, the shipwreck became an attraction for domestic and non-domestic tourists, and it became one of the most beautiful beaches in Greece and in the world.

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