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ОглавлениеSECTION 1 DHIAKOFTÉ TO TRÍPOLI
Méga Spíleo monastery: the fortress (Stage 2)
The first half of the Peloponnese Way crosses two massifs: rugged Khelmós, which we skirt beneath its ski station, and Ménalo, whose uplands are cloaked in evergreen forests. Between these is a lower stretch among maquis-covered hills and sleepy shepherds’ hamlets: this has its own Arcadian charm, despite some stony paths and one section of road (but you could hitch the road section or take a cab).
Location
Dhiakoftó is on the north coast of the Peloponnese, facing the Gulf of Corinth. It is 160km (2hr by road or train) west of Athens and 55km (45min by road or train) east of the city of Pátras.
Maps
Anávasi Topo 30 (1:30,000) 8.2 Mt Chelmos
Anávasi Topo 50 (1:50,000) 8.5 Mt Mainalo – Arcadia
Lyhnia (1:25,000) Ménalon Trail (http://menalontrail.eu/maps)
For the side trip after Stage 5: Anávasi Topo 25 (1:22,000) 8.51 Lousios
Bases
Kalávrita has banks, shops (including outdoor gear), restaurants and hotels. In Klitoría you will find Mont Helmos Hotel (tel 26920-31221, http://monthelmos.gr), rooms, restaurants and a few shops. Vitína has a bank, shops, restaurants and hotels, including the Hotel Sinói (tel 27950-22354, mob 694-5632241, www.sinoi.gr).
Access
Regular daily buses run from Athens (Kifisoú Street terminus) to Dhiakoftó – not all buses to Pátras will drop you in Dhiakoftó, so ask first; buses to Aigio will drop you in Dhiakoftó (www.ktelachaias.gr in Greek only).
There are four trains a day from Athens (airport or Akharnés SKA station) to Dhiakoftó, using the proastiakó (suburban) train as far as Kiáto and the rail replacement bus from Kiáto to Dhiakoftó (www.trainose.gr/en).
Regular daily buses go from Trípoli to Athens (Kifisoú Street terminus) (www.ktelarkadias.gr in Greek only).
Zakhloroú hamlet (Stage 1)
STAGE 1
Dhiakoftó (0m) to Méga Spílio monastery (1000m)
| Start point | Dhiakoftó |
| Distance | 15km |
| Difficulty | 1 |
| Walking time | 4hr 30min |
| Height gain | 1000m |
| Height loss | 0m |
| Waymarks | E4 (yellow + black) to Zakhloroú |
The first day of the trans-Peloponnese hike could hardly be easier, at least in terms of route-finding: you simply follow the narrow-gauge railway line from Dhiakoftó on the coast, up through the impressive cleft of the Vouraïkós gorge, to the tiny hamlet of Zakhlοroú, halfway to Kalávrita (12km/600m climb). Passing some spectacular tunnels and galleries, you walk between or alongside the tracks. There are only a few trains each day and they chug along at a gentle jog, hooting as they go.
At Zakhloroú, you could stay in one of the small hotels, including the Romántzo (tel 26920-22758), Káto Zakhloroú (tel 26920-22789, mob 698-3125616) or the swankier Olympios Zeus (tel 26920-22595, www.olympioszeus.gr). Alternatively, to get a useful head start on the next day’s long hike, follow the path up to Méga Spílio monastery and sleep in its guesthouse or the nearby Grand Chalet roadside motel. The former is more atmospheric, but you’ll need to nip down to the Grand Chalet for dinner and back by sunset; the latter is easy but soulless; both are bookable (tel 26920-23357, info@grandchalet-ms.gr).
A few tips: be aware of train times in both directions and keep a torch handy for the tunnels. If a train does come when you’re in a tunnel, don’t panic: stand hard against one side of the tunnel and shine your torch towards it. Cross bridges on the side with the iron boardwalk and handrail, and don’t worry about the ‘no pedestrian’ signs!
Take a stick: underfoot is chunky gravel, with the occasional girder to trip you; and carry plenty of water: the stream is not drinkable, and there are only one or two springs en route. Avoid the second Sunday in May, when thousands of Greek hikers descend the gorge.
From Dhiakoftó railway station, follow the tracks heading S. After about 3km, a dirt road appears alongside, which makes for easier walking; it crosses the tracks again about 2km further. Here, resume along the railway tracks S past the abandoned Niámata station (1hr 15min) and into the wild section of the gorge. Clumps of purple cistus, yellow Jerusalem sage and pink valerian spring from orange-grey cliffs; crag martins and falcons flit overhead; the roaring stream is hidden by oleanders, Judas and plane trees below. The gradient steepens; rack-and-pinion cogs appear between the rails, and the tunnels start.
Entering the Vouraïkós gorge
At the 8km mark, the gradient levels out and, 2km later, you pass the small guards’ hut of Trikliá (unlocked in 2016) and a weak spring in the trunk of a plane tree. At 10.6km, the track splits to cross a narrow defile (the disused L fork is easier) before passing through the tunnel gates known as Pórtes, designed to keep livestock out. Look out for wagtails, dippers, freshwater crabs and even otters in this stretch of the river. Soon, walnut meadows appear on L and R – possible campsites – before you reach Méga Spílio station and Zakhloroú (3hr 30min).
In the hamlet of Zakhloroú, shaded tavernas and rented rooms await, if you have not managed to book the Méga Spílio monastery guesthouse or the Grand Chalet motel.
For Méga Spílio monastery, from the station, walk through the second café terrace and find a path signed ‘Great Cave Monastery/Méga Spílio’ with a green circle and blue triangle (and suggesting a generous walking time of 1hr 30min). You are leaving the E4 trail. A broad gravelly path climbs steadily between huge composite boulders, spiny broom and juniper saplings. After 15min the path bears L and levels out briefly; up ahead, a crag towers above the monastery guesthouse. Some 10min later, you join a dirt road at a hairpin and keep L (up). After a further 5min, you meet the main road by a yellow-and-black signpost (‘Zakhloroú 20mins’) and turn L along the road.
You pass a covered spring bedecked with icons (R) to reach a large stone-clad building (L), the Grand Chalet motel, whose owners currently run the monastery guesthouse. Méga Spílio monastery itself is a 5min walk up the paved road R (4hr 30min). It is open daily until sunset, with an hour’s closure at lunch. The guesthouse is at the R (S) end of the complex, on a prominent outcrop.
To visit Méga Spílio monastery, ensure your shoulders and legs are covered, then enter through the huge door guarded by sculpted lions and head upstairs.
The frescoed hall tells the story behind the monastery, starting with the discovery in AD361 of a miraculous icon by local shepherdess Efrosíni; the finding of an exact replica in the hollow of a plane tree at Plataniótissa village; and the holy fathers’ escape from the Ottoman sword in the 1820s. You pass the smoke-darkened Byzantine chapel (on the right) and the gold-glinting treasury (left) – both worth a visit (note: no photos); then descend to the cave where the shepherdess, pictured with founding monks Simeon and Theodore, was saved from a dragon by the divine icon.
Méga Spílio monastery
STAGE 2
Méga Spílio monastery (1000m) to Áno Lousí (1050m) via Kserókambos/Mt Khelmós (1687m)
| Start point | Méga Spílio monastery |
| Distance | 17km |
| Difficulty | 2 |
| Walking time | 6hr |
| Height gain | 750m |
| Height loss | 700m |
| Waymarks | Blue (and some yellow) to Livádhi Louká, some orange across Kserókambos, green to Valvoúsi |
This is a long but truly beautiful hike climbing through dense fir forest, then across a 1600m plateau beneath the high peaks and ski slopes of Mt Khelmós, before descending through Alp-like meadows to the shepherds’ village of Áno Lousí. This is remote terrain. You probably won’t see a soul for most of the day. There’s no reliable water after Psilós Stavrós and low cloud can roll into the plateau, so be prepared.
If it sounds too strenuous (and especially if you have overnighted in Zakhloroú), you could instead take the train to Kalávrita and then follow the E4 road route – or the red-waymarked mountain bike trail – up to the col of Áyios Nikólaos and down to Áno Lousí (about 3hr). Both are well marked on the Anávasi map.
Either way you should pre-book the Hotel O Spérhos – simple but friendly, and the only option in the village (Andréas and Toúla Pavlópoulos, tel 26920-83348, mob 694-4542413, little or no English spoken).
In front of the monastery guesthouse, turn sharp L (blue arrow) up a stepped path, then R passing a cemetery and through a gate in the lee of an overhanging boulder – note the blue-on-white (BW) and yellow-on-white (YW) waymarks which guide us for much of the morning.
Follow the broad path for a minute or so. Our preferred route then turns sharp L up a path which climbs to the restored stone fortress atop the monastery cliffs. The balustrade is still largely intact, but for those who might find the exposure disturbing, an alternative route is suggested below. Continue N behind the fort – there may be fallen trees – to a dam of round stones in wire blocks; then up to a second dam, in front of which you turn R and scramble up to a clear track (20min). Follow this R (SE), with expansive views to the south past Kalávrita to distant Mt Olonós. The going is easy, apart from three washed-out gullies (take care). After about half an hour, you reach the 1150m ridge of Psilós Stavrós, with five interlinked wooden water troughs filled by a big black hosepipe (50min).
Alternative route to the ridge
An alternative route, avoiding the exposure, follows the broad path to a cross, then descends L on loose stones, past the base of a crag (BW and YW waymarks), before climbing steeply through fir forest, across a wooden footbridge, and up to the ridge just S of the troughs.
On the ridge near Psilós Stavrós
From the troughs, continue briefly S along the ridge, then follow a good path (and the hosepipe) R, contouring round a gentle summit. Resume along the ridge line, climbing steadily through fir forest (BW and a few YW waymarks). Look out for harebells, leopard’s bane, nodding cyclamen, squeaking chaffinches and the occasional squawking woodpecker. About 20min from the troughs, with large lumps of conglomerate rock ahead, bear L along a small clear path descending gently, then round a corner and more steeply, over loose stones.
You enter the fir-cloaked Kaloyerávlako valley – mossy rocks, forget-me-nots, green marten droppings – and almost meet the stream (normally flowing until late May/early June). Continue along the R (true L) bank, joining an old cement conduit. Where the conduit crosses on a flimsy bridge (1hr 30min), walk down to the stream, jump across and up the far bank for 30 metres to rejoin the path alongside the conduit. About 20min later, you reach the broader, meadowy area of Alinísia (1300m); great camping.
Keep following the L (true R) bank near the pipe and stream. The path ascends briefly, then drops to cross the stream (faded BW waymark on a low rock) and resumes its climb more steeply; red paint splodges help through some messy switchbacks. It levels out around 1400m and follows the daisy-specked banks of the now-dry stream, before joining a dirt road (2hr 15min) at a yellow-and-black signpost pointing back to ‘Méga Spílio 1h45’. Follow this L/straight, towards ‘Xerokampos Helmos Ski Center 1h10’. After a minute or so, ignore a second signpost (‘Peristéra 4h45’, etc) and stay on the dirt road, ignoring smaller jeep tracks L. After 15min along the valley floor you reach the lovely open meadows of Livádhi Louká, carpeted with millions of daisies in May. Stay on the dirt road to a fork (2hr 45min) near a hunters’ hut with two benches.
Livádhi Louká
As the Anávasi map shows, there are several routes up to the Kserókambos plateau. In low cloud, you could follow the main dirt road (L, then keep R). Otherwise, our preferred route is to fork R past the hut. After 5min, at a multiple fork, keep R and immediately L to skirt the base of a grassy hump. Behind this, ignore a jeep track climbing steeply ahead and bear R (W) up a gentler jeep track, which then climbs in earnest – with a few unnecessary curves – to reach the grassy watershed (3hr 10min). This is a good lunch spot, with far-reaching views west over endless layers of jagged, blue-grey mountains.
Follow the ridge L (S) – largely trailless, with occasional orange splodges – becoming steeper, stonier and treeless: rock partridge terrain. After a steep step between two outcrops of conglomerate boulder, bear R and resume L to reach the concrete 1687m trig point (3hr 40min). The rocky pyramid of Neraidhórakhi (2339m) is visible ahead (south), with the Khelmós ski slopes and buildings below.
Here, turn L (ESE) following the ridge and orange splodges (note: these also continue R/WSW). After 8min, descend a lip into a grassy gully and follow a faint jeep track down this (SSE) to rejoin the main dirt road (3hr 55min).
Follow this R (SSE), passing a crude shepherds’ hut after 15min, to reach an asphalt road (4hr 15min). Turn R and immediately join the main road from Kalávrita to the ski centre; continue along this (NW). After 2min, at a L bend, take the path R, signed ‘Kalávrita 2h30’. The clear path, waymarked with green triangles, descends steadily W through fir forest, crossing the main road twice. Be prepared for passing mountain bikers, and even motocrossers at weekends. After 45min, you see the new chalets of Valvoúsi ahead/R, tucked among alpine meadows, and soon join the dirt road that serves them, next to an old yellow-black post. Continue straight (W) along the dirt road for 5min to join the main Kalávrita–Lousí road by a small blue sign (‘Valvoúsi alt. 1140m’) above some new stone chalets (5hr 15min). Here, the route may become messy, especially if more chalets are built; if so, follow the main road L (SW) to the ridge and Áyios Nikólaos chapel (1.2km).
From the small blue sign, turn R along the main road for 150 metres and, by two telephone poles and a wooden sign ‘Aroania Village II’, turn sharp L into a field. Follow the L edge of the field to a wooden telephone pole, passing right next to it, climbing very slightly and bearing L (200°) onto a short section of old path, then up a small streambed to a new but uninhabited chalet. Behind this, follow the concrete track uphill. At a dirt road, turn R down to a walled spring (dry); you rejoin the E4 trail here. Turn L up a jeep track (230°) to a telephone pole on the skyline, next to the chapel of Áyios Nikólaos (5hr 35min).
Turn R along the road and after 50 metres fork L (E4 signpost) down a steep and stony dirt road. After 7min, ignore a R turn. The road (now concrete) enters the village of Áno Lousí. Turn R, passing the village church, spring and plane trees. Shortly before the road bears R, turn L down a steep concrete lane signposted ‘ΟΔΟΣ ΚΟΣΜΑ ΠΑΥΛΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ’ (ODOS KOSMA PAYLOPOYLOY) to reach Hotel O Spérhos (6hr).
STAGE 3
Áno Lousí (1050m) to Tourládha (750m) via Planitéro (590m)
| Start point | Áno Lousí |
| Distance | 17km (+ 1km for Cave of the Lakes detour) |
| Difficulty | 2 |
| Walking time | 6hr (+ 1hr–1hr 30min for Cave of the Lakes guided tour) |
| Height gain | 450m |
| Height loss | 750m |
| Waymarks | E4 (yellow + black) all the way |
This is another longish day but, apart from a short steep climb in the afternoon, it is largely downhill. You’re following the E4 trail, but out of step with its daily stages. Long views stretch over fertile valleys and half-forgotten villages to serrated skylines. The terrain is a mix of meadows (flower-speckled in spring, dry thereafter) and Greek maquis (prickly kermes oak), stony underfoot, with little forest. This is the classic pastoral landscape of ancient Arcadia (although it now belongs to the administrative region of Achaia), and you may well meet shepherds tending their flocks. It is best to set off early, to allow time for the Cave of the Lakes detour (an additional 1hr–1hr 30min). In the afternoon, you pass the pretty village of Planitéro and the plane-shaded springs of the Aroánios river (possibility of rooms c/o Panayiótis ‘Belénis’ Melitsópoulos, tel 26920-31831, mob 697-2058496, mob 697-6699898).
The only reliable accommodation is in Káto Klitoría (also called Mazéïka), a friendly little market town 5km off the walking route, with an excellent hotel (Mont Helmos, tel 26920-31221, http://monthelmos.gr), several tavernas and an English-speaking taxi driver (Andréas Kazánis, mob 697-3819130) who can collect you from Tourládha (or elsewhere) and bring you back the following day to resume the route; book him a day ahead and take a mobile phone in case timings change.
Opposite Hotel O Spérhos, take the rightmost of the three tracks, passing L of some stone chalet-maisonettes and bearing R uphill. At the cemetery and cypress trees, continue straight (E4). At the church, continue straight/R (‘Planitéro 3h30’) down the concrete track into Káto Lousí (15min). At the square with springs and plane trees (part-time café on L), turn sharp L along a concrete lane, which curves R and climbs into the S part of the village. Leave the village by a chapel and big bushy oak tree, descending a gravelly jeep track in the direction of the half-fir-clad summits of Profítis Ilías (1489m).
About 150 metres before rejoining the asphalt road (35min), bear L onto a small goat trail (E4 sign). Keeping your eyes peeled for E4 plaques and plastic ribbons on trees, proceed SE across flat stony meadows, maintaining height and staying parallel to the road. Convolvulus, vetch and butterflies brighten your way in spring. After 5min, bear a few degrees L (up) across a very rocky stretch, then a few degrees R again to hit a gravel track by an E4 signpost. Cross straight over, passing a yellow-and-black (YB) waymark on a low rock. The path squeezes between kermes oak trees.
At 1hr 5min, ignore the more trodden path bearing L up towards the peaks of Khelmós, and continue SSE across trailless ground to crest a slight rise. At an E4 post, turn R down a stony jeep track. Near a tiny corrugated iron hut (1hr 15min), turn L along a clearer jeep track. Where it starts to rise, bear L (E4 plaque) on a path to cut a corner. Cross another jeep track (1hr 25min); a deep gully opens up on your R. Where the track swings L, turn R (not signed) down a stony track, with views ahead over the gravelly Langádha riverbed. The track lurches L, then R down stony ground, past a house (dogs), to join a dirt road at a stone shrine (1hr 40min).
Descending into the Langádha valley
Detour to the Cave of the Lakes
The Cave of the Lakes lies 15min to your R – a worthwhile detour, although you’ll need 1hr–1hr 30min in total (not included in timings below). To reach it, follow the dirt road R for 400 metres to a fork, then make your way R across the streambed and up to the road.
You get a 30min guided tour through a sequence of well-lit passages and subterranean lakes, festooned with stalactites. Take a jumper and some cash. It’s open daily from 9am–4.30pm (5.30pm at weekends). Return the same way.
From the stone shrine, head straight down the slope (E), past a walled spring, to cross the wide gravelly riverbed (1hr 50min). Continue SE along a path (E4 sign), traversing up the L bank to reach a meadow. The path levels and broadens into a jeep track. Pass a weak spring L (2hr 5min). The chapel of Ayía Varvára is visible on a wooded spur ahead. You reach this after 20min and join a larger dirt track.
Continue straight/R and after 50 metres fork L up a smaller track (E4 post), and keep L again. After 12min, ignore a track L and continue (SE). Some 8min later (2hr 50min), at a R bend where the ground falls away steeply in front of you, the E4 trail strikes L (YB waymark on rock) down a very stony hillside, to join a concrete track just above a walled spring (3hr). You can also reach this point by staying on the track and then forking sharp L down a smaller track. Ahead, the village of Planitéro nestles spectacularly against a backdrop of darkly forested mountains (Dourdouvána).
Follow the concrete track into Planitéro, ignoring an asphalt road R, to reach a wide square with the health centre L, spring, kids’ slide and a second asphalt road forking R. From here, the E4 takes you L up through the highest part of the village; but it is quicker to turn R down the (second) asphalt road and, at the junction by a forest of plane trees, L to the restaurants and trout farms of the Aroánios springs (3hr 30min).
From here, there is apparently a gentle cycle route (podhilatódhromos) along the banks of the Aroánios river to Klitoría, about 7km away.
However, our preferred route (and the E4 trail) climbs steeply to the hamlet of Árbounas before traversing, with lovely views south-west, to the village of Áyios Nikólaos and then Tourládha, from where you can cab, hitch or walk the 5km into Klitoría.
Planitéro village
From the Aroánios springs, start by locating an arched bridge just before the restaurant Sólas (Rigoyiánnis). Cross this and bear L past some shelters (market stalls), heading 100° through plane forest. E4 markers are sparse. Bear R up a dirt track until, 5min above the chapel of Áyios Konstantínos, at a yellow-on-white waymark painted on the rock, you scramble up the bank R to find a tiny path threading through kermes woods. After 6min (3hr 45min), cross straight over the track (YB waymark on rock). The path, now clearer, climbs at 100° and after 10min eases off. You pass beneath a makeshift sheepfold, bear R up to a jeep track and steeply up this to the asphalt Árbounas road (4hr 10min).
Cross over (ascend the steep bank from the R) and make for the cypress tree below the L cluster of houses. Just below the cypress, bear R towards a big building with a painted cross (Áyios Athanásios church; 4hr 20min). To the R of this, climb up the steep concrete track to the top of Árbounas village and keep R to reach a breeze-block chapel (4hr 30min) next to an abandoned playground. To the north-east and east, the rocky peaks of Khelmós encircle you: the dominant pyramid of Profítis Ilías (2282m), Gardhíki (2182m) and Dourdouvána (2107m).
Turn L and slightly uphill (YB waymark) along a jeep track which very soon becomes a clear goat path, contouring at 1150m, with views over the lush fields of Klitoría to the serrated peaks behind. After 25min (4hr 55min), you pass L of a rocky outcrop, lose height and veer unexpectedly R before switchbacking L towards the houses of Áyios Nikólaos. At 5hr 20min you pass just below the cemetery and climb up to join a concrete track. Follow this through the village to just above the main church (5hr 30min). You could get the taxi from Klitoría to collect you here.
To continue to Tourládha, turn L (E4 sign) and at a four-way junction go straight over, up a lane with tall cypresses and pines on your L. Pass a signpost (‘Tourládha 0.30, Likoúria 4.30’) and a gushing spring, then fork L (E4 sign) along a flat concrete lane which leaves the village heading S. After 2km, and just beyond a spring shaded by plane trees (possible campsite), ignore a L turn, follow the track sharp R, past an E4 plaque on a tree L, and enter the village of Tourládha (6hr). The E4 plaque on a tree marks the onward E4 route to Krinófita, which we don’t advise – see beginning of Stage 4.
The taxi from Klitoría can collect you from Tourládha. At 1.5km along the road to Klitoría, look out for tomorrow’s ‘pleasant dirt road’ forking L at a R bend.
STAGE 4
Near Tourládha (700m) to Dhára (660m) via the Ládhonas river (480m)
| Start point | Road bend 1.5km below Tourládha |
| Distance | 18km |
| Difficulty | 2 |
| Walking time | 6hr |
| Height gain | 560m |
| Height loss | 600m |
| Waymarks | E4 from below Pangráti to Dhára |
This morning’s route follows a lower, gentler and more direct route than the E4 (with which it overlaps briefly in the village of Krinófita) to the head springs of the Ládhonas (or Ládhon) river. Be prepared for some route-finding challenges around the river valley – including finding the one tiny, rickety bridge. After this you rejoin the E4 path to climb up to the near-deserted village of Pangráti, and contour round to Dhára (often written ‘Daras’), a bigger village with the luxury of an indulgent guesthouse, Arkhontikó Kordhopáti (www.arhontiko-kordopati.gr/en). The going is mostly stony, over kermes-oak-covered hillsides with the occasional grassy meadow.
The E4 trail from Tourládha climbs steeply over a 1000m saddle before descending messily to Krinófita in about 1hr 45min. Given today’s time constraints, we advise instead following the pleasant dirt road which starts about 1.5km below Tourládha, at a bend with a house, heading S past a concrete trough/spring (L).
You contour S, then SE for 3.5km (50min) to join the asphalt road just below Krinófita, and head up into the village (1hr). Follow the E4 signs past two simple cafés to the highest houses and pick up a track (initially concreted) heading S. It climbs steadily past the chapel and vaulted spring of Panayía (L), after which you ignore a switchback L and continue straight along a smaller track (no sign) to a second chapel at a L bend (1hr 15min).
The E4 trail continues to the end of the track and along a stony path, climbing broadly east to cross a 1000m saddle and descend to Likoúria, then south-west to the Ládhonas springs (about 3hr 30min from the second chapel). Our more direct route rejoins the E4 just south of the Ládhonas springs in about 1hr 45min, but depends on a rickety bridge and some fiddly route-finding.
Turn R at the second chapel down a stony but clear path through Jerusalem sage bushes. After a few zigzags, it bears L (E) and then R (S) to pass below the ruined houses and porticoed chapel of Etiá (1hr 35min), where one shepherd still lives part-time with his 150 sheep and 6 dogs. Follow the fence down to the cypress trees (unreliable spring) and skirt the top of the walnut grove, following the most trodden of the many sheep trails climbing gently SW. At 2hr you crest the grassy saddle of Grávari (640m). This is idyllic in spring, with bright pink pyramid orchids, purple vetch, diligent stag beetles and shiny green rose chafers.
Behind the southernmost of three stone ruins, pick up a jeep track wiggling gently and then more steeply down to the S. After 15min you pass beneath a stone hut and then, where the track turns 90° R (W), continue straight on (S) on a tiny jeep track, past an oak tree and then a seasonal pond (R). There is no clear trail, but stay on the same bearing (210°), climbing very gently and ignoring any red dots to your R.
The path, becoming clearer, threads between kermes oak trees, descends slightly, levels out, then climbs again to cross a rocky spur (2hr 40min) above a very ruined stone hut. Here, turn R down the spur and make your way past an old threshing floor to what looks from here like a large white balcony – the monument of Khelonospiliá (2hr 45min).
When you reach the Khelonospiliá monument, you’ll see the arresting statue of a woman with broken chains and a sword pointing defiantly skywards, in commemoration of the first anti-Ottoman liberation battles in 1821.
Khelonospiliá monument
A few paces down the road, fork L down a stepped, white-edged path to the asphalt Likoúria road. Follow this L (E) for about 250 metres to a stone sheepfold on the L. Opposite this, turn R on a small path heading 190°, which after a few minutes bears L, to find a rickety wooden and metal bridge across the fledgling, gin-clear Ládhonas river (E00338367 / N04188568; 3hr). Electric-blue and green dragonflies abound here in spring; you may also spot turtles if you’re lucky.
This is where the route briefly becomes tricky; it may be worth scouting ahead. Turn L along the bank for 2–3min, then bear R (120°) towards the end pair of a row of poplars, on a faint path which continues past a twin-trunked poplar and, curving R, through a muddy cow path into a field. Here, continue 150° towards the lowest part of the cliff, across a trailless field (you may want long trousers), before bearing R to hit a good jeep track (3hr 15min).
Follow this L (E), ignoring a small fork L, and climbing gently through meadows with sparse oak and hawthorn trees. The track swings L until, bearing almost N, you reach a level meadow and join the E4 (post on L; 3hr 40min). Here, turn 90° R (SE) for a few minutes, crossing terraced fields and passing E4 plaques on spiny trees; then step up L into the oak woods. Keeping your eyes peeled for faded red ribbons hanging from branches, follow the increasingly clear and part-shaded path steadily uphill (210°). At a gully (4hr 20min), pick up a jeep track climbing R (NW). After 5min, turn L along a more level track (E4). At the top (4hr 35min), turn L into the village of Pangráti.
Follow the main road up past the playground (water tap by seesaw) and the now-closed hostel. After a couple of minutes, fork R (E4); the lane levels out. At a hairpin bend, keep straight, taking the uppermost of two tracks and climbing steadily SW on a good path to the 870m saddle (4hr 50min). You can see the forested bulk of Mt Ménalo spread out to the south.
Here, the path turns SE, descending steadily over stony ground. After 7min, you descend to cross a streambed and clamber up a few paces before resuming SE on a gentle ascent. About 20min later, you round a barren spur – keep looking for the old path’s border stones (don’t descend). After a further 20min, you descend to join a farm track (5hr 40min).
Turn L into the village of Dhára; for Arkhontikó Kordhopáti guesthouse, 100 metres before the big church, turn R down a small lane and it is on your L (6hr).
Dhára village
STAGE 5
Nimfasía (920m) to Vitína (1030m) via Kernítsa convent (850m)
| Start point | Nimfasía |
| Distance | 7km |
| Difficulty | 1 |
| Walking time | 2hr 50min |
| Height gain | 350m |
| Height loss | 240m |
| Waymarks | Green squares (Nimfasía–Kernítsa and Tzavárena–Vitína) |
The E4 route from Dhára to Nimfasía follows a road (much of it paved), which is flat, rather featureless and hot in summer. We therefore suggest taking a taxi for the 20km to Nimfasía – book it in advance, as there is only one in Dhára (Spílios, mob 694-4276544, no English spoken).
From Nimfasía, we’ve found a short but lovely and varied route, looping anticlockwise, to Vitína. It takes in the wild gorge and hilltop convent of Kernítsa (Kernítsis), an old stone bridge over a verdant valley (swimmable river pools until the end of May), and a dramatic limestone cleft. The first and last sections follow the green-waymarked Ménalon Trail (http://menalontrail.eu); try to get a copy of the 1:25,000 map produced by Lyhnia (www.lyhnia.com), although it – like the route itself – may be hard to locate as time goes on.
Vitína is a surprisingly large mountain village, bustling in summer and cool all year round, with shops, tavernas, guesthouses and even a boutique hotel. Athenians love coming here for snowy winter weekends. You could take the taxi all the way to Vitína, find a hotel and drop your bags, then walk the E4 trail back (north) to Nimfasía (3km/40min) to pick up our route.
Beehives near Nimfasía
From the central square of Nimfasía, head NW along the road between the ‘ΧΑΣΑΠΟΤΑΒΕΡΝΑ (963m)’ (HASAPOTABERNA) taverna (L) and the Ménalo mapboard (R). At the bell tower, turn L and then bear R, following green square (GS) waymarks and signs to Ierá Moní Kernítsis.
Where the road bears L at a cemetery (5min), continue straight ahead (W) on a dirt road towards the flat-topped summit of Aryirókastro. Ignore side tracks to L and R. After 10min, you pass a shrine and a Ménalon Trail (MT) sign; shortly after this, just beyond a L bend in the track, fork R and immediately R again (GS) down a small path (W). This enters a ditch, bears R (first views of the convent) and zigzags down, part-shaded by oaks, to just above the road bridge over the Miláontas stream (40min). Don’t drop down to the road, but keep R, climbing and then dropping steeply to cross the river on an old stone bridge (45min). This is a lovely shady spot, but tantalisingly there is no way down to the blue-green pools (dry after June).
Shortly before the road, the path turns sharp R and then splits: both ways lead to the convent but L (GS) is gentler. Reunited, the old mule path zigzags up, through a gate, to emerge at the top of the car park for Kernítsa convent (55min).
To visit Kernítsa convent (open daily from 9am–2pm and from 4pm until sunset), follow the stepped lane to the right, up through a rose garden and a wooden gate to the chapel, perched on a limestone crag above the gorge.
The site is 900 years old, the buildings much newer; they now house 14 nuns – and, on the 15 August feast day, many visiting pilgrims. A door to the left of the chapel takes you down to the tiny vaulted crypt, with a copy of the miraculous icon, and dozens of censers hanging from the ceiling.
The crypt of Kernítsa
From the convent car park, follow a stepped path (W) up to a stone-faced chapel (good spring), through the gate, across the yard, out of the far gate and R up a steep path (GS). Climb a shaly spur, covered in purple cistus in May, with views back to the convent. After 10min (1hr 5min), you pass an overgrown circular threshing floor and pick up a jeep track continuing SW. Look left (south) to see the tiny red-roofed shrine of Áyios Ioánnis on a rocky outcrop at the end of a sandy spur: you’ll pass this later.
At the end of a fence (L), leave the GS waymarks and follow a track L down to the dirt road, where you turn R. After 3–4min, fork R (uphill), watching out for vicious dogs (be prepared to throw some stones). After another 5–6min (1hr 20min), and 20 metres after a stone chapel (L), fork L down the uppermost of two tiny jeep tracks between a fence (L) and a hut (R). This bends L across a small streambed (plane trees), then winds over shrubby hillsides and down a shaly spur to the shrine of Áyios Ioánnis which, close up, looks like a cross between a dog kennel and a family grave (1hr 40min). Before the shrine, take a small path descending sharp R (W), contouring S across shale to a small saddle, and then stonily down to a lovely meadow ringed by plane trees (1hr 50min): lovely camping.
From the left-hand corner of the meadow, it is worth making a short detour north to a point where the gorge narrows dramatically. You can either take a small path that threads its way along the left bank 20–30 metres above the stream, or follow the streambed (dry after June). After visiting, retrace your steps to the meadow.
Tzavárena bridge
To continue, from the upper end of the meadow, find a small path running SW parallel to the stream and about 30 metres above it, to reach the old stone bridge of Tzavárena (2hr). In pre-automobile days, this bridge used to be the main artery between Vitína and the villages of western Gortynia. Cross the bridge (signpost to ‘Vitína 45 mins’) and head straight (SE) up the opposite slope (GS). After 7–8min, bear R (S), still climbing steadily, across slopes speckled with yellow Onosma and red spurge. You cross a dry gully (880m); the path may be washed out. At a spur with views towards Vitína, turn unexpectedly R (GS) following the spur down to a wooden picnic shelter (2hr 20min) with plunging views over a narrow cleft of river gorge, known as Mávra Lithária (black boulders).
For a closer look at the river gorge (optional), a stepped path zigzags down to the plane-shaded riverbed, which you follow carefully to the right into the jaws of the gorge.
If, in the riverbed, you keep left and cross two wooden bridges, there is a narrow rollercoaster trail all the way to the stone bridge of Zárzi in about 45min, from where tracks lead to Vitína – but from the state of the trail in 2016 there’s no guarantee it will be passable. It is better to return to the picnic shelter.
From the shelter, follow the jeep track E. After 5min, at a L bend, turn R down a path (GS) which crosses a smelly stream, swings R (W) and climbs steadily and shadily SE. It briefly rejoins the track at a hairpin (GS) before forking R (uphill) and veering R to crest the ridge. Here, turn L along a paved path, passing the ruins of Paliá Vitína (L).
At a gravel track, continue straight/L; after a couple of minutes, a bigger track joins from the L and you pass Áyi Apóstoli chapel and Arhontaríki guesthouse on your R (2hr 40min). Follow the now paved lane E into Vitína (2hr 50min). The E4-sponsored Hotel Sinói (tel 27950-22354, mob 694-5632241, www.sinoi.gr) is on the far (E) side of town.
Side trip to Dhimitsána, Stemnítsa and the Loúsios gorge (1–2 days)
There are two buses a day from Vitína to the beautiful towns of Dhimitsána and Stemnítsa on Ménalo’s western flanks, overlooking the deep river valley and spectacularly sited monasteries of the Loúsios. If you have time to spare, this is a worthwhile two-day detour, using the Anávasi map or the Ménalon Trail waymarks (red squares on white) to hike from Dhimitsána to Stemnítsa via the water museum, Filosófou monastery, Prodhrómou monastery, and (optionally) a detour to the ancient riverside ruins and Asklepeion of Gortys (or Górtina) (5–6hr in total). There are several hotels and tavernas in Dhimitsána (we like the Theonimfi guesthouse www.theonimfi.gr and the Kazakou www.xenonaskazakou.gr), and a few in Stemnítsa.
The Anávasi and Ménalon Trail maps also show waymarked forest trails linking Dhimitsána or Stemnítsa with Vitína (red/yellow squares), but with 8–9hr hiking time and uncertain route-finding, you may struggle to make it in a day. We’d be happy to hear from anyone who does try it.
STAGE 6
Vitína (1030m) to Kardharás (1020m) or Kápsia (700m) via Mt Ménalo ski area (1600m)
| Start point | Vitína |
| Distance | 17km to Kardháras (22km to Kápsia) excluding Sfendámi |
| Difficulty | 2–3 |
| Walking time | 5hr 45min to Kardharás (6hr 45 min to Kápsia) excluding Sfendámi |
| Height gain | 930m |
| Height loss | 940m |
| Waymarks | Yellow then orange squares |
Today’s hike climbs through pine- and fir-clad mountains more reminiscent of the Swiss Jura than of southern Greece. Most of it is shady, with a few open meadows offering glimpses of the rounded summits of Mt Ménalo (or Mainalon). Our high point is the tiny and very seasonal ski resort at 1600m, or (optionally) the 1880m summit of Sfendámi (add 35min). Keen peak-baggers could go further and book a night at the EOS refuge, allowing them to summit 1981m Ostrakína, Ménalo’s highest point, and other minor summits.
The descent, again through shady forests, criss-crosses the mountain road before reaching the tiny hamlet of Kardharás – almost dead outside winter weekends, although the luxurious Neféles Mountain Resort (tel 27960-22771, tel 27960-22871, www.nefelesmainalon.gr) can normally open for you by prior arrangement. Otherwise you’ll have to continue 5km along the road – you may get a lift if you’re lucky – to the larger village of Kápsia, which has a conference-oriented but welcoming hotel, Arkhontikó Kalteziótis (tel 2710-235822/3, www.kalteziotis.gr).
From Vitína’s central square (1030m), follow the main road E, with the church on your L. After 300 metres, at a L bend (Hotel Aígli ahead, Hotel Sinói 100 metres to your L), continue straight and immediately L, following the road R. Yellow-on-white squares (YS) guide you throughout the morning’s route. After 400 metres, with a pine wood L, follow the lane L. After 300 metres, fork R up a farm track (YS) to the main road (20min). Go straight over (E4, YS) up a surfaced lane, soon passing a stone spring and cistern R. Where the concrete lane ends in front of a stone chapel (30min), turn R up a jeep track (E4). This becomes a path, still heading NE and well marked with YS.
Enter the fir forest and climb steadily up a rocky defile. At weekends, be prepared for down-rushing mountain bikes from here onwards. At 50min, you climb steeply to a surfaced road: turn L and immediately R up a jeep track in a gully heading broadly SE. The signed route forks L twice, passing a mountain bike ramp before rejoining the gully floor. At 1hr 10min, turn sharp L up a path, then resume SE along a broader, rockier path. At a clearing, the gradient lessens; fork R along a gravelly path (E4, YS). At 1hr 25min cross straight over the forest road, heading SSE (YS). Emerge on a small forest track and keep R/straight. This soon levels off and dwindles into a path bearing L (E); climb past several ramps to reach the junction of a forest road and smaller track (1520m – this morning’s high point; 1hr 45min).
Go straight across the dirt road and down a lovely path (E4, YS) initially heading E; the path bears R then L down to a grassy jeep track in the valley floor. Turn L, gently downhill. The next half-hour needs careful route-finding. At 1hr 55min, bear R (two YS on tree trunk) onto a vague trail skirting the R edge of semi-open grassland (Láki Roúkhi). Pick up another grassy track, keep L/straight for 100 metres, then bear nearly 90° R (SE) across meadows looking for YS on trees. If you miss the YS waymarks on trees, turn sharp R at the water tank. Where the now wider track veers R, fork L (two YS and one red square on a tree) heading SSE and climbing gently up an open meadow strip. After 300 metres, turn 90° L/NE (two YS on R, pointing L), climbing up a steeper path between fir trees. Reach the top and descend for 5min or so. With the main trans-Ménalo road just visible 80 metres ahead, turn 90° R (two YS) and weave between fir trees to reach this asphalt road at its junction with a good dirt road descending NE (2hr 30min).
Cross straight over and pick up a small path R of the dirt road (some fallen trees), descending initially parallel to the dirt road, then bearing R. At 2hr 40min, you cross a grassy track and remain on a small trail (YS). Some 5min later, turn R along a good dirt track (no obvious waymark); from here you are following orange squares (OS), not yellow squares (2hr 45min).
Mt Ménalo: the ski area in May with Sfendámi summit behind
A couple of minutes later, continue L/straight along a smaller track aiming SE between the summits of Mávri Korifí (1818m) and Mesovoúni (1860m). The valley is now open and grassy. Where the track bears R away from the valley floor, continue straight up the gully on a smaller track (OS) which dwindles to a path. This climbs steeply – better for descending bikers than ascending hikers – but is shady and soft underfoot.
At 3hr 30min you reach the main asphalt road (1600m, the day’s high point) and turn L. From this point, you can either follow the asphalt road for about 2km (25min) to just beyond the buildings and car park of the ski centre or take the following optional detour to Sfendámi.
Detour to Sfendámi
After 50 metres along the asphalt road, turn R across a grassy bowl and climb steeply up to a ski hut (1680m). From here, a jeep track continues R (SW then S; keep R) up to the base of Sfendámi; continue cross-country up to the pyramidal 1880m peak (30–40min from the ski hut). Return the same way past the ski hut and then turn R (E) down to the ski centre and car park (1hr total).
From the ski centre (3hr 55min, excluding Sfendámi detour), follow the main asphalt road S, passing the access track to the EOS refuge (L), and a small red square plaque (R) indicating the start of the trail to Alonístena and Mourdziá. Here (4hr), by an E4 and EOS info sign, hop L onto a small path running parallel to the road, which becomes a lovely corridor through the forest. At the asphalt road (4hr 15min), turn R along it for 50 metres, then L (OS, E4) down a gently descending path. Cross to the L side of the gully, then (4hr 30min) pick up a jeep track with views ahead up to Mourdziá ridge (1762m). At 4hr 35min, the trail lurches down a stony bank to the asphalt road; or, easier, follow the track R and turn L up the road. Either way, opposite the winding-road sign ‘ΣΥΝΕΧΕΙΣ’ (SYNEXEIS), continue SE down a path which descends across semi-open ground, down some steep terraces, bears L and skirts just above the asphalt road before giving up and joining it by a telephone pole (E4, green EOS sign; 5hr).
From here, it is not worth persevering with the overgrown and gravelly trail, so resign yourself to 2km (25min) of road trudge E, with little chance of a lift. At 5hr 25min, a lane forks L to the scattered houses of Kardharás, including the E4-backed Neféles Hotel and the oft-closed Ostra (tel 27960-22743, www.ostra.gr, expensive) – about 5hr 45min hiking from Vitína, excluding Sfendámi detour.
If these hotels are closed or full, stay on the main road and continue to Kápsia and the Hotel Kalteziótis (6hr 45min from Vitína, excluding Sfendámi detour): see Stage 7 for the route from Kardharás to Kápsia.
Alternative route via Ostrakína and Mourdziá
If you’re coming with a group, you could, by arrangement, overnight at the EOS refuge near the ski area. This would allow you to summit Ostrakína (1981m) in the afternoon and next day follow the high-level path over Mourdziá (1762m) and E down to Kápsia; I have not done this but have heard it is wild and beautiful.
To book the EOS refuge: see www.eostripolis.gr or tel 27210-232243 midweek evenings, or try the warden Tássos on mob 694-5858862 (little English spoken; approx €120 per night for up to eight people, with an additional €15 per extra person; bring sheet sleeping bags and food to cook).
STAGE 7
Kardharás (1020m) or Kápsia (700m) to Trípoli (670m)
| Start point | Kardharás (or Kápsia) |
| Distance | 19.5km from Kardháras (14.5km from Kápsia) |
| Difficulty | 2 |
| Walking time | 5hr 30min from Kardharás (4hr 20min from Kápsia) |
| Height gain | 350m |
| Height loss | 700m from Kardháras (380m from Kápsia) |
| Waymarks | E4 |
The E4 route from Kardharás to Trípoli is one of the less interesting stages in the trail: if you’re going to skip one day, skip this – especially since there is a morning bus along the main road 2km below Kardharás (it normally passes the junction between 8.30am and 9am; times vary, so check locally), continuing through Kápsia and into Trípoli. You can stock up in this bustling provincial capital, then take a taxi to Psilí Vrísi and complete the next stage all in one (longish) day.
From Kardharás, rejoin the main road and follow it downhill (ENE). About 1km below the village (or 0.5km below Neféles), turn R (E4) along a small lane passing a couple of blocky houses. Fork R (E) and after 1.5km bear R and then bend L to rejoin the main road. Turn R along the main road. After just over 2km you enter Kápsia (700m; 1hr 10min).
If you have arrived in Kápsia at the end of Stage 6: for the Hotel Kalteziótis, continue into the village and turn left at the big church, crossing its front yard, and bearing left (tel 2710-235822/3, www.kalteziotis.gr).
For Trípoli, as you enter Kápsia, turn R (E4) up a dirt track climbing gently SW. This becomes a goat path, crossing open hillsides to another dirt track which you follow L (S), past a goat stable (1hr 30min or 20min). Beyond Kápsia, walking times show the time from Kardharás first, followed by the time from Kápsia. After about 2km (2hr or 50min), fork L off this track onto goat paths (E4), still heading S across stony, scrubby meadows near the valley floor. You reach the chapel of Áyios Yiórgos (3hr or 1hr 50min) and pick up a track, part concrete part gravel, heading S. After the first side road, the path slips L (E4) and runs parallel with the track before rejoining it and then descending through a valley to the village of Perthóri (4hr or 2hr 50min).
At the entrance to the village, keep L/straight (E4), past the old school, then L and immediately R along a small lane which dwindles to a track, descending ESE. After 2km, near an army shooting range, you pick up an asphalt road (E4) and bear R (SSE) through the ugly periphery of Trípoli (5hr or 3hr 50min). After just over 1km, you join the main road from Kápsia (and Olympía/Pírgos), and follow it R (SSW) into the centre of this bustling provincial capital (5hr 30min or 4hr 20min).
Tortoises can be seen along the Píndos Way
