Piperi is located east of Gioura, cut off from the rest of the islands of the Archipelagos. It’s in the heart of the marine park and it is full of beautiful pine trees. This is the island where the Monk seal was filmed in its natural environment for the first time ever. The measures the authorities have taken for the protection of this area are understandably severe because it hosts the biggest surviving colony of Monk seals in the world. Piperi also features a deserted monastery dedicated to Panagia (Virgin Mary) that, according to the descriptions of the German travel writer Ross, was once inhabited by several monks. Some people believe that a fairly well-known local scholar by the name of Cesarios Dapontes took his monastic vows there as well. The church of the monastery is very well preserved and its stone-covered cupolas are a very characteristic example of traditional architecture.
The steep rocks of Piperi provide shelter for some of the most threatened species of water-fowls in the Aegean, such as the Larus auduini sea-gull, a rare species of peregrine, the Phalacrocorax aristotelis cormorant and the Hieraetus fasciatus eagle. The dolphin park, another local highlight, is located in the middle of the triangle formed by Gioura, Kira Panagia and Piperi, where you can observe the playful behavior of these lovely animals from very close-up.
It is forbidden to approach within a three-mile radius of the coast of Piperi.