While staying at the Eco Lodge one of the main activities will probably be relaxing, either under the shade of a pergola, on a sun-warmed stone bench or in a hammock under an oak tree. But of course there are lots of other things to do. For anyone who likes gardening, there is a big vegetable garden where one can spend the afternoon. There are beautiful walks starting straight from the plot through the nearby oak forest to the beaches. Footpaths can sometimes be a bit wild and overgrown but are great way to explore Tinos nature and culture. Yoga can also be organised for you and keep an eye on our blog and news for upcoming seminars such as the one on permaculture which is organised every year in May! Also, the whole Ecolodge can be rented by teachers to organise your own retreat! The infrastructure is there for you, contact us for further details.
Seminars
Permaculture
What is Permaculture? Permaculture is a design process. It helps design intelligent systems which meet human needs whilst enhancing biodiversity, reducing our impact on the planet, and creating a fairer world for us all. People across the globe are creating thriving communities with permaculture. Tinos Ecolodge has been running Permaculture seminars since 2016 and is proud to commit to this educational and life changing experience as a yearly or twice a year activity! So dont miss this opportunity and ask us for the next organised course!
2024. 25 May – 8 June. Full Certified 14 Day Permaculture Design Course.
The ninth PDC will be held at the Ecolodge with 2 extra days of practicals! We are very excited to have with us again Peter Cow, a very experienced teacher from the UK and assistant teachers Elena Symeonidou from Paros/Greece, and Nicolas Bedau from Tinos Ecolodge Greece. The seminar includes 100 hours of theoretical and practical lessons on permaculture, completing the full PDC including Peoples permaculture, a field that Peter has deepen his knowledge as an holistic approach on how to live using our natural resources and our society sustainably and create abundance. In the end of the course to gain the Certificate, each participant takes part and presents a Group design, using as case studies real projects that the participants bring in. For application and details about the course please read here.
2023. 20 May – 3 June. Full Certified 14 Day Permaculture Design Course. The eighth PDC will be held at the Ecolodge with 2 extra days of practicals! We are very excited to have with us again Peter Cow, a very experienced teacher from the UK and assistant teachers Elena Symeonidou from Paros/Greece, and Nicolas Bedau from Tinos Ecolodge Greece.
2022. 20 May – 3 June. Full Certified 14 Day Permaculture Design Course. The sixth PDC will be held at the Ecolodge with 2 extra days of practicals! We are very excited to have with us again Peter Cow, a very experienced teacher from the UK and assistant teachers Alexandros Kostis from Andros/Greece, Bram van Overbeeke from Holland and Nicolas Bedau from Tinos Ecolodge Greece.
2021. 27 September – 10 October.Full Certified 14 Day Permaculture Design Course. The fifth Autumn PDC will be held at the Ecolodge with 2 extra days of practicals! We are very excited to have with us again Peter Cow, a very experienced teacher from the UK and assistant teachers Bram van Overbeeke from Holland and Nicolas Bedau from Greece.
2019.20 September – 4 October.Full Certified 14 Day Permaculture Design Course. The fourth Autumn PDC will be held at the Ecolodge with 2 extra days of practicals! We are very excited to have with us for the first time Peter Cow, a very experienced teacher from the UK together with Elena Symeonidou from Greece!
2018.22 September – 4 October.Full Certified 12 Day Permaculture Design Course. The third Autumn PDC will be held again with our beloved teachers Rod Everett and Mill Millichap two very experienced and knowledgeable teachers from England. The seminar includes 80 hours of theoretical and practical lessons on permaculture, understanding an holistic approach on how to live using our natural resources sustainably and creating abundance.
2017. We are excited to announce the second FULL PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE (PDC) 2017 that will be hosted in Tinos Eco-lodge with two knowledgeable teachers Andrew Jordan from Ireland and Elena Symeonidou from Greece. 23 September – 5 October 2017(12 days, 80 hours certificate). The seminar includes 80 hours of theoretical and practical lessons on an holistic approach of living using our natural resources soil, water, sun, air and all natural materials around us. For booking and info Read more…
2016. The first permaculture seminar has been organised for autumn 2016, from 23 September until 4 October. It’s going to be an 11-day full Permaculture Design Course (PDC) with two very experienced and knowledgable teachers from England, Rod Everett and Mill Millichap. The seminar includes 80 hours of theoretical and practical lessons on an holistic approach of living using our natural resources soil, water, sun, air and all natural materials around us. Read more…
We’re hosting a new retreat in May, led by Berlin-based Yogi Jens Simon. Stimulating morning Yoga sessions on our Yoga deck, sprinkled with practical inputs from Yoga philosophy and the principles of Yin and Yang, journaling, meditation in the afternoon and deeply relaxing Yin Yoga sessions at night form the backbone of this retreat. read more….
Orionas Yoga Shala invites you for a 3 day retreat at Tinos Ecolodge where we will practice Hatha and Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga as well as guided sessions of Thai massage. Cost for 3 days: 210€ in a room and 180€ in tents, price includes 3 vegetarian meals per day. read more…
Unalome team and Tinos Ecolodge organise a 10 day seminar of basic level of traditional Thai massage technique, from 21 June to 1st July. 70 hours Thai massage classes, plus daily yoga and meditation. read more…
Organise your Retreat at the Ecolodge
We are excited to announce that the Ecolodge is ready to host seminars and retreats to any teacher that is looking for a nature retreat in the Aegean! Tinos Ecolodge – a self-sustaining eco-friendly resort surrounded by breath-taking views and within a short hop to the local beaches, is promoting green tourism, permaculture principles and well being retreats.
The infrastructure includes:
A 40sq.m wooden deck, with pergola bamboo shade, side curtains for extra shade and wind protection, constructed inside a unique Aegean environment, among an endemic oak forest, with sea view and river side vegetation.
An outdoor kitchen, situated right next to the organic vegetable garden, fully equipped with gas plates, pizza firewood oven, BBQ area, and 2 group tables that seat up to 20 people, plus a small stone built amphitheatre.
Outdoor bathroom facilities which include two compost toilets, two outdoor showers and two outdoor sinks.
An organic permaculture garden with all seasonal vegetables and herbs.
Accommodation
The accommodation at the moment includes the two lodges which can sleep up to 8 people, plus a lot of space to camp under the oak trees.
Services
Services may include: Local vegetarian dishes (or not) from a local cook which can prepare 2 meals per day, and full breakfast buffet with organic products. Cleaning service at the lodges.
Excursions in Tinos. This may include organised hikes around the area, climbing or bouldering, visits to the beautiful villages of the island, eating out to a local taverna, visit to other farms for wine tasting and cheese making, visit a wild Tinian herbs distillery, or traditional basket making workshops, the marble museum of Pyrgos amongst other activities.
For more information and details on how to organise your retreat please contact us!
The Ecolodge organic garden
The vegetation on the plot is mainly wild and comprises one of the very few, if not the only, old oak forest on the island. There are also some fig, olive and plane trees which give shade in the summer heat. For the vegetable garden it is our aim to find and use local seeds and cultivate trees and vegetables that suit the dry and salty environment of the island. We will also use permaculture methods in growing our plants and start experimenting with transplanting wild local herbs and plants such as thyme, oregano, lavender, sage, wild artichoke and caper. Our goal is to have a variety of organically grown fruit and vegetables all year round that guests can enjoy planting and picking.We also want to produce our own olives, herbs, capers, jams and raki.
Would you like to practice morning yoga on our specially constructed yoga deck with an experienced yoga teacher? Ecolodge is a perfect place to achieve good physical and mental health combining your holidays with yoga.
Private lessons or group lessons up to 6 persons can be arranged with yoga teacher Eleni Toli. Prices range from 15euro/person in groups to 50euro for one person private.
Wildlife of Tinos
The northern part of Tinos has been characterized as an Important Bird Area because of the Eleonora’s falcon a small sea raptor which 70% of its population breeds in the Aegean which breeds on the rocky cliffs. Part of the IBA is a NATURA 2000 area, protected for the rest of the fauna, reptiles, mammals and for the flora. We can provide you with all the information on best routes and areas for birdwatching and photographing wildlife.
Among the birds that can be seen on Tinos are buzzards, kestrels, and Bonelli’s Eagle, long-legged buzzard, and Peregrine. In particular, during migration there are many kinds of birds of prey. Shags are important seabirds and there are many kind of owls, such as Scops ow l and Little owl. There are also Hoopoe in autumn and spring, herons, ducks and waders especially in Kolibithra bay where there is a small area of wetland and in the scrub areas where the rare Cretzshmar’s Bunting breeds.
There are many reptiles living on the island, with the most famous one, because of its venom, being the Nose-horned Viper (Vipera ammodytes). However other non-venomous snakes are Natrix natrix in the water, Natrix tessellata, Eryx jaculus, and Dolichophis caspius. Tortoises (Mauremys caspica), frogs and many species of lizards (Cyrtodactylus kotschyi, Lacerta trillineata, Podarcis erhardii) are found in Tinos.
The monk seal Monachus monachu lives in the unobstructed water caves of the island. However, it has been a long time since a sighting has been reported.
Many herbs and edible plants as well as mushrooms grow wild all over the island and people are used to collect them for house consumption. Capers, oregano, thyme, lavender, wild sage, wild mint, crocus, and many many more can be found while walking along the footpaths of Tinos.
Walk the Neighborhood
The area is a unique forested area with oak trees, by a stream with tall plain trees and a lot of vegetation, very unusual for Tinos and the Cyclades. It is surrounded by rural terraced land with olive trees, lemon trees and other fruit trees, small stone stables for the sheep and pigs, pigeon houses and small churches. Its totally unspoiled.
There are beautiful walks on old footpaths that start directly from the plot or are passing near by which we can point out to you. The most famous is the one starting from Potamia village to Santa Margarita beach, passing through a valley under the mountain of Tsiknias, with many old dovecotes on the way, streams with a lot of vegetation and a great view to the sea.
If you like mountain tops, there is a great uphill walk to the mountain Tsiknias, the highest mountain of Tinos, were you have a panoramic 360 degree view of all the islands around Tinos, from Ikaria and Mykonos, Delos, Paros, Naxos and on a clear day even Samos and Folegandros.
The plot orientation is East so the sun rises directly from the sea! If you are an early bird you can combine a nice walk with a swim while the sun rises at the two beautiful beaches of Santa Margarita and Lychnaftia, 20 minutes walk downhill or only 2km away.
