Hiking to the Cave of St John in Iraklia Greece is an unforgettable experience! Here is how to visit the Cave of Agios Ioannis on Iraklia island.

The Cave of St John in Iraklia Greece
The Cave of St John in Iraklia is the island’s most impressive landmark, and one of the biggest caves in the Cyclades group of islands in Greece. Located at an altitude of about 1oo m, the cave is only accessible on foot, through the island’s hiking trails.
The hiking path to St John’s Cave is fairly steep in places, and it can be a little challenging, especially when the weather is warm. However, the amazing views on the way and the serene ambiance of the cave itself are totally worth the effort.
I’m Vanessa from Athens, and I last hiked to Agios Ioannis Cave in Iraklia in June 2024 with my partner Dave. I had been there once before, in 2010, and was very excited to go back after all these years.
Here is everything you need to know to hike to the Cave of St John the Baptist in Iraklia, along with some background information.
History of the Cave of St John Iraklia
According to the local tradition, the Cave of St John was discovered by a local shepherd who stumbled upon it while seeking shelter from the rain.
When he returned back home, his fellow villagers noticed the image of St. John the Baptist imprinted on the back of his shirt. They asked the shepherd to take them to the cave where he had rested.
Upon entering the cave, the villagers discovered an icon of Saint John the Baptist, and decided to name the cave after the popular saint.
In another version of the story, one of the shepherd’s goats would wander away each day, returning to the pen long after the rest of the herd.
One day, the shepherd followed the goat, and saw it disappear under a large bush. When he explored, he discovered a massive cave, and found an icon of St. John the Baptist inside.
Celebrations at St John’s Cave
To honor St John, a vespers service takes place in the main hall of the cave on August 28th each year. In the Greek Orthodox calendar, this date marks the eve of the Feast of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist.
This unusual celebration attracts numerous pilgrims from Iraklia and the nearby islands, who all hike to the cave. During the service, hundreds of people light their candles, and the atmosphere inside the cave is very unique.
I have witnessed this candle-lit ceremony back in 2010, and it’s one of my most memorable experiences on the Greek islands ever. I definitely want to go back for it one day, it’s an incredible sight to behold.
Exploring the Cave of St John
Although the cave in Iraklia was discovered many decades ago, it has never been commercially exploited for tourism, and there is no tourist infrastructure.
The site remains in its natural state, with the exception of a few ecclesiastical objects and candle traces in the first chamber, where the celebration of St John takes place on the 28th August.
Visitors who hike to the cave do so out of personal interest or devotion, rather than as part of a commercial tourist experience.
In recent years, a team called Discover Iraklia have launched organized hiking tours to the cave. Fanis and Nektarios, two of the founders, are locals – Fanis owns the amazing Hotel Meltemi, which enjoys some of the best views of the island.
While going with a local will definitely enhance your experience of the cave, it is possible to do the hike on your own, which is what we did. Here are our impressions!
Hiking trails to Agios Ioannis Cave Iraklia
You can hike to the Cave of St John from either Agios Georgios, the island’s port town, or from Panagia. This is a small inland village on the middle of the island, which is geographically closer to the cave.
June is a warm month in Greece, so we decided to take the shorter hiking path from Panagia. The hike took us about an hour on the way there, and a little longer to come back as we sat on a bench to watch the fantastic views to the Aegean Sea.
As we had our own car, getting to Panagia from Agios Georgios, where we were staying, was straightforward and took us less than 10 minutes.
The hike from Agios Georgios would take you over two hours. If you want to hike from Panagia, you can take the public bus which runs between the two villages in summer. Tickets only cost 2 euro per person.
There are also motorbikes and cars that you can rent on Iraklia. Get in touch with Roussos – Iraklia Scooter.
Hiking to St John’s Cave in Iraklia
We brought with us our hats and sunglasses, light clothes, walking shoes, a small box of nuts, and one big bottle of water for each of us. I also had a strong head torch with me – it proved to be very useful for the cave, compared to our mobile phones.
We started our hike from Panagia at exactly 17:45. The weather was still pretty warm, but the sun was not too strong anymore, and we thought this was the best time to hike to the Cave.
In June, sunset in Greece is just before 21:00, which means we had plenty of time to return to Panagia before it got dark.
The alternative would have been to go in the early morning. In this case, we would have had to start our hike before 7 am, as it gets quite warm from about 9:30-10:00 onward.
All in all, we thought the evening hike would work better for us. And off we were!
How difficult is it to hike to St John’s Cave Iraklia?
It’s fair to say that the path to Agios Ioannis cave is quite variable in terms of difficulty. There are some very easy stretches, even some that are semi-paved, but other parts are steep and more challenging.
For the most part, the path is well signposted. There were a few official signs, but also red markings on the rocks, so it was fairly easy to follow.
There were also a few cairns here and there, which indicate that you are on the right trail when there is no other sign.
One thing you should know is that there is very little shade on the way to the cave and back. There are only a couple of spots where you can sit under a tree for a few minutes, but otherwise you’ll be exposed to the sun.
This is why it’s important to go outside the warmest hours of the day.
If it happens to be windy on the day you go hiking, you will also be exposed to the wind – I would not enjoy that personally, the meltemi wind in Iraklia can get very strong.
Hiking to Iraklia Cave
After about an hour of hiking, we saw a large cave entrance on our left hand side.
This is not St John’s cave – it’s known as the cave of Polyphemus, the Cyclops who was blinded by Odysseus in Homer’s epic Ancient Greek poem, the Odyssey.
We sat there for a quick break, and then walked a little further, to the Cave of St John. And there it was!
As you can see, the entrance is very small. It was exactly as I remembered it after all these years!
Dave had to crawl on his knees and elbows to go in the cave, which was a lot of fun to watch.
I’m not exactly the tallest person in the world so I didn’t really struggle with going in.
Inside St John’s Cave Iraklia
Finally, we were inside the cave! We immediately saw lots of stalactites and stalagmites, and a few bats.
There were also a few items that are used for the annual religious ceremony of St John, and traces of candles here and there.
It was so odd being the only people in the cave – it was unnaturally quiet. We turned off the torch for a few seconds and it was complete darkness. Very spooky!
We walked to the far end of the chamber, and could see that the cave extends far beyond. In fact, the cave has many more chambers, which I think have not been fully explored by speleologists.
Back in 2010, I had explored a couple more chambers with a friend who was into speleology. I remember some beautiful, and untouched, stalactite and stalagmite formations.
This time, we decided against going further in, as it would involve lots of climbing on some very slippery rocks. Plus, we didn’t have a spare torch, which would be essential if you wanted to spend more time in the cave.
All in all, we spent about 30-40 minutes in the cave, and then started heading back to Panagia.
The views on the way back were so stunning – I wish we could have stayed for sunset, but it would have been too dark to walk back to the village.
Plus, we were looking forward to our delicious meal at the local taverna in Panagia, I Drosia!
How to get to Iraklia
You can get to Iraklia on the ferry from Piraeus, or from other nearby islands like Naxos. There are also some day trips from Naxos, though you won’t be able to hike to the cave if you visit on a day trip.
Here is my full guide on how to get to Iraklia Greece.
More hiking adventures in Greece
If you like hiking, Iraklia is paradise – there are a few different hiking paths, like the path to Merihas or the top of St Papas mountain. The views are just amazing!
Here are a few more hiking trails you might enjoy in Greece:
- Hiking to Kleftiko Bay in Milos
- Hiking from Fira to Oia in Santorini
- Kamari – Ancient Thera – Perissa Hike In Santorini
And also, if you are into caves, check out the amazing Cave of Antiparos!
Hi! I’m Vanessa from Athens and I love travelling around Greece and the Greek islands. Iraklia is one of my favourite Cyclades islands. Follow me on my social media:
- Facebook page and very active Facebook group
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