Tourlida

An extraordinary place, this inhabited islet, at some 5km from Messolonghi, is named after the curlews (turlides in Greek), considered to be among the lagoon’s distinct seabirds.
In this original settlement - a picturesque fishing village in the past - the visitor will distinguish the huts fixed on stilts, the famous pelades, i.e. wooden houses - rest shelters for fishermen. Nowadays, many of them have been converted into holiday homes.
The area’s numerous attractions include the skiffs and gaites (small draft fishing boats ), the divaria (fences and fish farms), the flocks of flamingos and herons, the wonderful sunset and enchanting sunrise, a beach of developed infrastructure, off the Gulf of Patras, where the lagoon and the Ionian Sea become one, and the perataria (an impromptu steel raft, like a small ferryboat), which is dragged by a wire rope.
A fascinating route by a paved road – built at the end of the 19th century – connecting the town of Messolonghi with the island also offers views of one of the area’s two salt flats, the so-called Black Salt Flat.