One of the most photographed beaches in the world, located in Greece, will be modified to save the wreck that made it famous. The Greek authorities will extend Navagio beach by 30 meters towards the sea. Tourist access remains prohibited due to the risk of landslides.
The image of Navagio beach, with the rusting wreck of a ship stranded on the white sand, surrounded by high cliffs and deep blue water, almost unreal, is one of the most famous sights in Greece. The place that has become the symbol of the island of Zakynthos is, however, to be modified in order to protect the very element that brought it fame: the abandoned ship which, after more than four decades spent on the shore, began to be seriously affected by erosion.
The Greek authorities have prepared a project by which the beach will be extended by approximately 30 meters towards the sea, by depositing gravel. The work should create a greater distance between the waves and the wreck, which is currently about 25 meters from the water, so that the deterioration of the metal structure is slowed down and restoration work can then begin, notes euronews.
According to the same source, approximately 45,000 cubic meters of material will be brought to expand the sand and gravel area. Navagio Beach, also known as “Shipwreck Beach”, cannot be accessed by land as it is surrounded by very high cliffs and the only way to reach it is by sea.
Authorities banned access to boats and swimmers until October 31 after assessments by the Organization for Earthquake Planning and Protection (OASP) indicated a high risk of landslides in the area. Thus, those who arrive on the island of Zakynthos can see the bay only from the viewpoints set up on the rocks.
Navagio Beach has also been closed to the public in the past for safety reasons. In 2018, the detachment of a section of rock injured seven people, and in 2022 access was again restricted after a magnitude 5.4 earthquake. However, even viewed from a distance, the beach continues to attract tourists from all over the world.
The story behind the name of Navagio Beach
In October 1980, the MV Panagiotis reached the beach that would become, years later, one of the most famous places in Greece. The ship, used for cigarette smuggling, got stuck in the isolated bay on the island of Zakynthos, and the crew abandoned it. Authorities then opened an investigation, but many of the details of the shipwreck remain unclear.
For years, the wreck lay on the white sand between the high cliffs of the bay. At first, it was just an abandoned ship in a hard-to-reach place, but its unusual image began to attract more and more tourists, and Agios Georgios Bay, as it used to be called, came to be known as Navagio – “wreck” in Greek – after the ship that was left on the beach.
The images of the rusty ship, on the small beach, between the rocks and the clear water of the Ionian Sea, attracted more and more tourists to the island of Zakynthos and turned the place into one of the most photographed beaches in the world.
