Gaidouronisi: The Islet That Guards Naoussa Bay

Gaidouronisi — "donkey island" — is a name found across Greek waters, and the best-known bearer is the large islet off Crete sometimes called Chrysi. This Gaidouronisi is not that place. It is a small, rocky, empty islet at the northern edge of Paros in the Cyclades, sitting directly opposite the eastern entrance to Naoussa Bay. The shared name is a common Greek toponym and a frequent source of confusion.

Geographically, the Paros islet is modest. It runs roughly north-south, about 650 meters long and up to 350 meters wide, with an area of just 0.148 square kilometers. Its highest point rises 37 meters above the sea. A small harbor on the Paros shore lies immediately opposite the islet, and from a distance the arrangement makes Gaidouronisi look as though it has broken away from the main island, separated by only a narrow strip of water.

Administratively, Gaidouronisi has an odd paper existence. Since 2001, it has been formally registered as part of the Naoussa community within the Municipality of Paros, in the South Aegean region. Yet every census taken since — including the most recent, in 2021 — has recorded zero permanent residents. The islet is uninhabited and has presumably always been so, which makes its legal status as a recognized settlement unit something of a cartographic quirk.

For sailors, Gaidouronisi is less a curiosity than a caution. The waters around its rocky shoreline are full of reefs and small islets that Greek mariners have long nicknamed "the scissors of Paros," or psalidia. The name warns how easily a hull can be caught and cut between submerged rocks. Because the islet guards the eastern approach to Naoussa Bay, any vessel entering that way must pass carefully, using the islet as a reference point while keeping well clear of its edges.

There are no businesses on Gaidouronisi itself, and no reason for a visitor to land. The enterprises connected to it in any practical sense are based across the water in the port town of Naoussa, and their connection is limited to passing by. Anna Maria Cruises runs traditional wooden-boat day cruises from Naoussa Harbor to Langeri, Analipsi, and Tourkou Ammos. Pantasoulas Daily Cruises offers private and semi-private family-run trips, including sunset and fishing excursions. Naousa Daily Cruises operates seven traditional kaikia on an hourly public shuttle from the port to Kolympithres and Monastiri beaches. Aegean Vibes Cruises runs pontoon-boat half-day and sunset trips around Naoussa Bay. X-ta-sea Divers, a PADI 5-Star center, leads boat dives and courses around Paros' reefs. None of these operators advertises Gaidouronisi as a stop; their vessels pass the islet because it stands at the bay's mouth, not because any of them visit it directly.

In the end, Gaidouronisi of Paros is a real but unglamorous landmark: administratively named, permanently empty, and known best to navigators for the hazards surrounding it. It is not a tourism destination, and nothing about its profile suggests it ever will be.