Skala is the most full of life and touristically developed settlement in Patmos. It gathers the majority of shops, cafés, bars, restaurants and lodging houses. Its permanent population amounts to approximately 1,400 inhabitants, most of whom work in the tourism industry and only a few work as fishermen. The settlement began to establish itself there in 1600, at a time when the island experienced great economic prosperity. The first buildings were warehouses and maintenance facilities for local and incoming ships. Later, the settlement evolved into a commercial and maritime trading centre. In Skala you can see the Italian Government House and its square (now a police building), the small square with the church of Agios Ioannis the Prodromos (Saint John the Baptist), the shopping street with the stores, the lighthouse and the Konsolato area. In the evening you should take a walk along the seaside road. There is an old shipyard close to the intersection that leads to Meloi and to Kampos.
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When the sun starts to set, couples or groups of friends go towards Chochlaka, a small pebbled beach behind the dry land of Skala. They wait to see the flaming sun setting in the sea or hiding behind Icaria (it depends on the season).
