Corfu, Kerkyra in Greek is the northest among the Seven Ionian islands laying in a branch of the Mediterranean Sea, called the Ionian Sea, on the Western side of Greece.
Corfu has got two neighbor countries: the first one is Albania, from which it is separated by the Corfu channel. The closest town and port is Saranda (Aghii Saranda) which is linked to Corfu by a daily ferryboat all year round and daily cruises during the summer season.
The second neighbor is Italy. As Corfu is very close to the strait of Otranto, therefore Brindisi is 7 hours away sailing! Thanks to its position between Italy, Albania and Greece, Corfu is a strategic place and therefore it was always a point of interest for all the foreign powers since the Homeric times.
Corfu is also the greenest island in Greece thanks to the rain fall during autumn and winter (115cm of rain/year) and humidity which could reach 95%. The average temperature during winter is 12-13 degrees C. While in the summer, it is 31 degrees C.
Thanks to the micro-climate that Corfu has, it is a fact that anytime of the year one could visit this island and he will always find it green! One can hardly see the ground because most of it is covered with trees, bushes and grass. What changes the scenery are the wild or planted flowers blooming according to seasons. Corfu is very well known for its great variety of wild flowers, like orchids.
Among the Ionian islands , Corfu is the second largest island after Cefalonia (Kefallinia) around 600 km2, mainly covered with hills. The highest mountain laying in the North-east part of the island is called the Pantokrator (Lord of the universe), which has an altitude of 911m. Then comes Aghii Deka (Ten Saints) exactly in the center of the island, 545m altitude and Chlomos in the south. Corfu has also some valleys: one in the North, one in the middle(Valley of Ropa) and one in the South(Valley of Lefkimi). This is where normally you would find cattle of sheep and goats as well as vineyards.
