These islands’ natural beauty, their golden beaches and crystal emerald waters, justify your choice of Koufonisia for your summer vacation. What distinguishes both islands is the energy in the atmosphere; an almost supernatural resonance, radiating back the life-force of hundreds of generations of inhabitants and visitors alike. The feeling is scarcely describable, and we wish everyone could experience it for themselves, even if just for a few hours.
Kato (lower) Koufonisi is uninhabited, but its many summer visitors tend to construct makeshift houses. Ano (upper) Koufonisi, with its white houses in the famed Cycladic style, is a jewel not to be missed.
There are two explanations for the origin of the islands’ names. Either it comes from antiquity, from the words 'koufos limin' (leeward haven), or from the many caves that nature has sculpted into the rocks of the islands.
Their long story starts from the Prehistoric Era. Archaeological findings such as funerary monuments demonstrate the existence of a significant Cycladic settlement, while there are also more recent findings from the Hellenistic and Roman eras. This growth is also linked to the development of the settlement on the island of Keros. This neighboring island is currently uninhabited and has been designated an archaeological site, as it once was one of the most important centers in the Cycladic era, comparable in importance to the sacred Island of Delos. Like most of the Cycladic islands, they experienced occupation by both  Venetians and Turks . The clash of these two colonizing rivals led the island to misery and famine, with the inhabitants having to subsist on bulbs and lupine, a fruit meant to feed animals. The Koufonisia joined the rest of liberated Greece in 1830. A century later, in 1941, the islanders did their time under Italian and later German occupation in 1943, up to 1944 when the Germans were defeated and had to withdraw. Today Ano & Kato Koufonisia have taken their place on the map, satisfying not only alternative travelers, but also those who prefer some touristic amenities. Two islands worth exploring.