On top of the hill at the where you will find the Prophet Elias Church
On top of the cliffs overlooking Navarone Bay
On the beach and the rocks around Navarone Bay
Are these locations easy to get to?
1 - Prophet Elias Church
Prepare to give your lungs and your legs a good workout. There is a car park at the foot of the steps up to the church. All you need to do is follow the 200 plus steps all the way to the church and the cross at the top of the hill.
The steps are excellent, having been recently rebuilt, and there are handrails to help you up the steep bits. I have done the climb wearing flip flops no problem, but there is one word of warning I will give you.
Goat droppings.
These can be many in quantity, and all over the path, so flip flops are not the best thing to be completely honest.
Once you get to the top there is a level paved area with a very low perimeter wall, a church, a Greek flag and a large cross.
And those amazing views.
2 - On top of the cliffs overlooking Navarone Bay
You have to drive around the headland and drive as far up the gravel path as you dare. You can see this just below the cross and the number 2. I stopped a good way short of the actual location, giving myself a good 10-minute walk up the hill, over the top and then a scramble down to the plateau immediately above the main cliffs.
And the big drop!
Do not wear flip flops for this. I wore actual walking boots, some lovely lightweight ones that grip the rocks wonderfully well.
The path is very lumpy and bumpy, and once you are on the tops you need good quality walking shoes, or it will be a slow, painful, miserable experience. And you will be putting yourself at risk if you go the cliff edge.
These are serious cliffs so be careful – you would not survive the drop.
OK – that’s you told!
3 - On the beach and the rocks around Navarone Bay
To get to this location you have to drive to the Lindos Memories Resort & Spa. There is a car park there that I park at. I know I am not a guest but at the time I am there it is very quiet.
Ok completely silent apart from the goats.
Anyway as a thank you to this lovely hotel for letting me park there here is a link to the hotel.
Park at the car park and walk down the path to the beach by the side of the hotel immediately off the car park. On the way back you will notice the smells of the spa which is nice.
Walk down to the beach and turn right. I go all the way to the end of the beach then navigate the rocks to get to the point where I want to take my photos from.
Which is basically at the very bottom of that massive rock face.
This is obviously up to you, but I have shown you on the map one of my preferred locations.
Again, flip flops are not recommended. You are not going to kill yourself falling off the edge here, but the rocks are very sharp, and I always manage to get some impressive cuts and scratches on my legs.
If you are happy staying on the beach then that is just fine – you will still have an amazing sunrise experience.
Is there parking nearby?
I think I have covered that.
What time does the sun rise?
Well this varies of course on the time of year and if there is a band of cloud on the horizon. According to my camera metadata the sun started to appear about 5:50am. There is of course the time before the sun rises which is amazing, so ideally if the sun were to rise at 5.50am I would like to be in position and ready to take photos and videos by 5am.
But I like being nice and early so I can sit down and just enjoy being there.
Sunrise is such a special thing that I love experiencing.
And I would stay for a good hour afterwards as well to make the best of that fantastic post-sunrise directional light.
Are there other people there?
At the church on the hill it is very common to find people there witnessing the stunning sunrise on the hill. You can after all park at the bottom of the steps and walk up there in normal shoes.
I have never seen anyone else on the rocks or the beach in Navarone Bay though. And as to the top of the cliffs overlooking Navarone Bay? Only goats. I have never seen another person up there.
So yes and no. And you can guess which I prefer?
Splendid sunrise isolation. Just me and the elements.
What camera gear do I use?
Time to talk photography briefly. Don’t worry I won’t go on too much I promise.
And by the way, the links I have added to these items are Amazon Affiliate links – if you buy them or anything else within 24 hours of visiting Amazon via that link then I get a small commission.
Disclosure done – best to be open about these things!
Back to my gear.
I have been using a Canon 6D for a few years now, but this year I have changed my travel photography gear. I am now using an Olympus OM-D EM5 Mk 2 with Olympus 12-40mm F2.8 Pro lens, and also the excellent Olympus 40-150mm lens.
I am loving my new smaller gear.
Which is slightly smaller and not that much lighter even it has to be said,
I use a Peak Design Everyday Backpack to carry my gear to these places that I find myself in – a backpack is an essential for me as I need both hands free to get to where I want to be.
My tripod of choice is the 3 Legged Thing Punks Corey, which sits nicely in my camera bag. And I am loving the Arca Swiss plate.
I have bought an L bracket with grip for my Olympus camera, the QR Vertical Shoot L Bracket Plate With Hand Grip, which cost me £19.99 from Amazon which worked quite well.
That was the main gear that I used. Sorry there was my iPhone which I used to take videos.
Gear done – on to the photos taken at the three locations.
My sunrise photos of Rhodes web page
I have created a gallery page on my website where I have added 12 sunrise photos taken in these three locations in June 2019. This is called Rhodes. I know – where do I get these names from?
I will talk about one photo from each of the locations, which will hopefully give you an idea of the view from each location.
1 – The photo from the top of the hill near the Prophet Elias Church
