6 (road) trips around Peloponnese
Located on the southern part of mainland Greece, Peloponnese is the most popular holiday region of it. As the main center of ancient civilazations, Peloponnese has many interesting archaeological sites. Certainly, it doesn’t lack in natural beauty either, as the landscape varies from steep mountainsides to valleys and long sandy beaches. Here we compiled a set of 6 road trips around Peloponnese, to get a first idea what Peloponnese can offer to you (main source is loveexploring.com , where you can find more details).
1. Nafplio-Mycenae-Tiryns-Epidavros-Porto Heli: history & romantic ruins [East]
Less than two hour’s drive from Athens, Nafplio welcomes Athenian families during weekends so try to come here midweek to beat the crowds. Apart from its three magnificent castles, Nafplio also claims a wondrous worry-bead (“komboloï”) museum and Karonis one of a few ouzo factories on the mainland that you can visit for a tasting. The town is also the perfect base to explore a slew of historic sites nearby.
It’s a short drive to two UNESCO World Heritage sites, both stemming from the era of the Iliad and the Odyssey: small but impressive Tiryns and unmissable Mycenae itself, the town that named that whole epoch. The ancient theatre of Epidaurus nearby is, remarkably, still in use and during the summer you can attend a concert or theatre performance under a balm evening’s moonlight.
At the end of the route you find Porto Heli (and neighbouring village of Ermioni), a coastal town along the Argolic Gulf, directly across from the island of Spetses, all popular havens for boat owners in the area.
2. Patras-Kalogria-Olympia: for wine lovers [West]
Patra(s) is in the middle of Greece’s largest wine area and the city is the headquarters of the giant Achaia Clauss winery, established in 1861 open for tours and tastings. For a stunner of a beach, drive an hour west of the city on to the sand dunes of Kalogria that border Strofilia National Park. About an hours’ drive from Kalogria lies (Ancient) Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympics. It’s a very evocative site that doesn’t disappoint: you can run on the exact track used by the ancient athletes, visit the temples they made offerings to and marvel at the marble statues in the museum, equal to the Elgin marbles in artistry and quality.
Just 25 km away, you can find the famous Kaiafas thermal springs, renowned since antiquity. With a coast of 3.5 km on the Kaiafas lake, the property includes the Kaiafas forest, designated as a landscape of natural beauty, listed in the National NATURA 2000 directory.
The area is well-knonn for its vineyards, clustered on the flatlands southeast of the mountains; several unique wine tasting experiences are available throughout the wine region Ilia for you to discover.
3. Kalamata-Koroni-Finikounda-Methoni-Gialova-Costa Navarino: endless beahes [Southwest]
If you lust after the archetypal Greek island vibe, then the Messenian coast offers resorts and beaches aplenty, suitable for “beach hopping”. Costa Navarino is the most developed and well-known, with Caribbean standards of service, a landmark of its own, which is rather pricey but worth it – with two golf courses and five luxury restaurants. In the area try also Gialova (Lagoon) just below, for a more intimate experience.
Between the two lies one of Greece’s main birdwatching wetlands featuring a chameleon sanctuary and Voïdokoilia, a perfect semicircle of a beach, all in the Navarino bay, north of Pylos; many important historical events took place in this area and until today the visitor might see the remains from the shipwrecks of the Battleship of Navarino (in 1827) while snorkeling in the nearby beaches. The entire area, together with the island of Sphacteria, forms part of the network Natura 2000 protected areas.
Further south, Finikounda offers wide, wild stretches of sand, while the smaller towns of Pylos, Methoni and Koroni score high on charm with picturesque harbourfronts, medieval fortresses and small-scale summer laziness.
4. Kalamata-Sparta-Monemvasia-Neapoli-Elafonissos: small towns and tiny islands [Southeast]
From Kalamata, the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula and center of fertile Messinian lands with production of olive oil, raisins, figs etc, take the Langhada pass to Sparta, a dramatic 60km)hairpin-rich road over Mount Taygetus and one of Greece’s great road trips. Surrounded by mounts Taygetos and Parnon, Sparta was once the kingdom of Menelaus (and his beautiful queen, the most beautiful of all mortal women of her age, Helen – the cause of Trojan War), but also of Leonidas, the hero of Thermopyles, along with his brave 300.
A few hours’ drive further on, rises “The Gibraltar of the East”: the rock of Monemvasia; joined by a small causeway with the mainland, the rock hides the medieval, fortified town of Monemvasia, a Byzantine time bubble if ever there was one.
A new road south takes you to the lovely fishing village of Neapoli, best known as a hop-off ferry point to the island of Elafonissos, whose long sandy beaches are legendary among the cognoscenti.
5. Kalamata-Kardamyli-Stoupa-Gerolimenas-Cape Tainaron-Areopoli-Gytheio: Mani, the place for crowd-free vistas [South]
Stay in Kalamata long enough to enjoy its city beach and urban life, and then slowly make your way to Cape Tainaron the European continent’s southernmost tip. Its bare and dry landscape feels like a setting for a spaghetti Western – maybe this is why the Ancient Greeks thought that it led to the Underworld!! The area is called Mani, home to the Maniates, who claim descent from the ancient Spartans and is maybe the only spot of the mainland Balkans never conqured by the Ottoman Empire.
After the famous village of Stoupa with Stoupa Beach and many other beaches and caves, a southern mountain pass leads via Oitylo, Limeni and the austere stone-built town of Areopolis, to Gytheio, a beautiful, unspoiled port facing the picturesque island of Marathonissi in the middle of the bay. On the way is Kardamyli a scenery coastal village, is where novelist and travel writer Bruce Chatwin wrote his “Songlines”; his ashes are buried at Exohori, a village 10km up Mount Taygetus where he used to hike most evenings.
The five-mile beach at Mavrovouni, outside Gytheio, is one of the most remote sandy stretches in Greece; not even in high summer do the shoulder-to-shoulder campsites and hotels feel overcrowded.
6. Kapsia-Vytina-Andritsaina-Karytaina-Tripoli-Doliana-Tyros-Nafplio: authenticity [Central/East]
The central side of Peloponnese is probably the least open to foreign visitors. However, it is very popular among Greeks and especially Athenians who visit the mountainous villages of Arcadia for weekend breaks. Dimitsana, Vytina, Karytena, Lagkadia, and Andritsena are picturesque villages in the mountains. The temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae, near Andritsena, is a masterpiece and is included in the UNESCO List of World Heritage.
Very interesting is also Ancient Gortyn near Ellinikon and the Monasteries of Philosophou and Timios Prodromos. On the slopes of Mount Mainalon in Vytina is the ski center; extreme sports are also popular in the region and visitors can try rafting in River Lousios, canoe-kayak in Lake Ladonas and river trekking in River Neda.
A route in central Peloponnese, should pass through the picturesque villages of Mount Parnon, Doliana and St Petros (included in the List of Traditional Settlements), before moving to the coastal zone with two famous towns, Astros and Leonidio, surrounded by lovely beach resorts and beautiful nature.
The trip can end where the first one started: the beautiful town of Naflio.
[greeka.com]
