3 Best Sights in Pounta, The Cyclades

A 15-minute walk or 2-minute drive back toward Paros Town from the Valley of Butterflies leads to the convent known as Christos sto Dasos, from where there's a marvelous view of the Aegean. The convent contains the tomb of St. Arsenios (1800–77), who was a schoolteacher, an abbot, and a prophet. He was also a reputed rainmaker, whose prayers were believed to have ended a long drought, saving Paros from starvation. The nuns are a bit leery of tourists. If you want to go in, be sure to wear long pants or skirt and a shirt that covers your shoulders or the sisters will turn you away.

The Jersey tiger moth returns year after year to mate in Petaloudes (Butterflies Valley), a lush oasis of greenery in the middle of this dry island. In May, June, and perhaps July, you can watch them as they lie dormant during the day, their chocolate-brown wings with yellow stripes still against the ivy leaves. In the evening they flutter upward to the cooler air, flashing the coral-red undersides of their wings as they rise. A notice at the entrance asks visitors not to disturb them by taking photographs or shaking the leaves.