Cave of the Apocalypse

The Cave of the Apocalypse is a grotto halfway between the towns of Chora and Skala on the island of Patmos. It sits within a complex including a small chapel, with the interior showing rough-hewn rock walls and religious images.

John composed the Book of Revelation here during his exile at the end of the first century, a text that became the final book of the New Testament. Christianity later established the grotto as a pilgrimage site, and Byzantine believers built a monastery above it that survives to this day.

Orthodox pilgrims regularly visit this grotto and kneel before the niches in the rock wall where John is believed to have prayed and slept. Wall paintings and votive offerings cover the interior surfaces, a sign of the devotion that has shaped the site for centuries and remains active today.

The grotto is open daily except on major holidays from morning to early afternoon, and visitors can explore the rooms freely without a guide. Because of low ceilings and narrow passages, visitors should wear sturdy shoes and step carefully.

A silver lamp hangs from the ceiling below the fissures and burns without interruption, a custom that symbolizes perpetual prayer. Some visitors place their hand on the rock ledge that tradition describes as John's headrest during sleep.