Halkidiki Greece
Halkidiki is a very versatile region, characterized by miscellaneous landscapes. The peninsula is famous for its long coastlines but also the Holomondos-mountains, shaping the central North, providing a highly impressive landscape. Forests and a wide flora in combination with the clear waters of the Aegean Sea lead to an omnipresent color composition of Blue and Green.
Halkidiki-Greece provides for each territory its own representation including a presentation of each village, its sightseeing-points, emergency contacts, guides about accommodation, gastronomic facilities, local services, hiking-routes and offers about local leisure activities
Halkidiki – Chalkidiki is a peninsula in the region Macedonia in Northern Greece surrounded by the Northern Aegean Sea. The peninsula consist a massive area in the Northwest and lead to three elongate Peninsulas in the South: Kassandra, Sithonia and Athos (In the Greek usage these peninsulas are usually called ‘legs’).
Due the shape and based on the Greek Mythology, Halkidiki also is described as the ‘Trident of Poseidon’. Administrative capital of Halkidiki is Polygyros, a town centrally located in the back-country.
Halkidiki is subdivided into five municipalities.
Polygyros - Nea Propontida - Aristotelis - Kassandra - Sithonia
Athos, the third ‘leg’ of the peninsulas is governed as an autonomous monastic state within the Greek Republic. For this reason it is not mentioned in the list of Halkidiki’s municipalities above.
The gulfs around Halkidiki
• The ‘Thermaic Gulf’ between the western coast of Halkidiki and the Greek mainland in the West and the Strymonic Gulf on the East of Halkidiki
• The ‘Toronaic Gulf’ between Kassandra and Sithonia and the Singitic Gulf between Sithonia and Athos
Halkidiki
The name of the region Halkidiki refers to Chalkis, one of the 4 city states of Euboea. Among others, also settlers from Chalkis founded colonies in Halkidiki around 800BC.
The earliest known organized settlements in Chalkidiki were founded by Thracians and Pelasgians around 4.000BC. First evidence of native tribes can be dated to 700.000BC. Most prominent evidences are the findings in the cave of Petralona.
Halkidiki or Chalkidiki?
Both are right. The word Chalkidiki refers to the Latin ‘Chalcidice’ and might be the most popular international expression. Yet, the locally preferred spelling is ‘Halkidiki’
This is a local project, so we prefer using the term ‘Halkidiki’. It's also closer to the Greek way of pronunciation.