A superb panoramic road leads to this monastery, considered one of the most important monuments from the Byzantine era. It was founded on the spot where a miraculous icon of the Virgin had been found. It was built in the 11C by Constantine Monomachos in gratitude to the three hermits of Chios who had predicted that he would accede to the throne. It is the work of architects and painters from Constantinople. The octagonal church is the best example of architecture from this period in Greece.

The fertile Kámbos Plain, planted with thousands of lemon and orange trees, is criss-crossed by a network of roads and tracks lined with high ocher walls to protect the orchards from the wind and dust. From the 15C to the 19C some 200 houses (arhondiká) and mansions were built in the area by Genoese and Greek merchants and used as summer residences. Some houses are occasionally open to the public; not to be missed are theZigomalas House and the Argenti House.

The fertile Kámbos Plain, planted with thousands of lemon and orange trees, is criss-crossed by a network of roads and tracks lined with high ocher walls to protect the orchards from the wind and dust. From the 15C to the 19C some 200 houses (arhondiká) and mansions were built in the area by Genoese and Greek merchants and used as summer residences. Some houses are occasionally open to the public; not to be missed are theZigomalas House and the Argenti House.

The region of Mastikohória covers the entire southern part of the island from Armólia and comprises some twenty villages. This is where the lentisk grows; it is a bush about 2m high which is cupped for its resin, mastic, collected in the early autumn. Híos is the only place in the world where mastic solidifies naturally. Annual production varies between 200 and 300 tonnes. The charming Byzantine church of Panagía i Krína (12C or 13C) can be visited on the way.