Kanakia is a coastal village on the back side of Salamina – not the one facing Piraeus, that is – which also includes the homonymous, uninhabited island off the coast, as well as the smaller Gaidouronisi next to it. The permanent population amounts to 206 inhabitants, according to the census of 2011. In the past, the settlement was known as Karakiani or Kanakiani, names of probably Slavic origin, which testify to the remote roots of the current village. In fact, until the 1970s there was no road to reach here and the inhabitants only moved along the seashore.