The Menalon Trail - Across the Peloponnese

Travel to Stemnitsa from Athens or Kalamata Airport. Start off with a visit to the Menalon Trail office on the main square and get a glimpse of the treasures that lie ahead this week. Then wander round to the local Silver- and Goldsmiths’ Trade School and peek in at the village folk museum.

Set off from Stemnitsa and zigzag down an old mule track to Prodomos Monastery, an improbable site clinging to spectacularly high cliffs. The gorge leads next to the 963 AD ‘Old Philosophou’ Monastery and the more ‘recent’ New Monastery founded in 1691. Traversing lush vegetation on the left bank of the Lousios River, you cross Tzani Bridge to reach the intriguing Open Air Water Power Museum. Here you can inspect the nearby watermills and gun powder mills that contributed to the fame and wealth of Dimitsana, a town built on the ruins of the ancient Theftis.

Challenge: 5 hours, 13 km / 8 mi, 780 m ascent, 910 m descent

Walk gently uphill to the edge of a pine forest and pause at St. Paraskevi church. Take in the splendid views and snap a few dozen pictures of villages nestled in the densely wooded landscape. Trekking on footpaths and dirt tracks through ancient farmland, you stop to gawk at remarkable threshing floors. The memorial at Zygovisti recalls its role in the 1821 Greek War of Independence. Take a break at the local café and press onward with renewed energy toward the Menalon’s Western Massif. A rampant ravine leads to the secret spring at Agios Georgios Church, lost in the wilderness, and thick trees take you up to the pass. Option of crowning the 1643m-high summit at Pliovouni, followed by a chance to catch your breath downhill on narrow roads and paths passing fountains and chapels to the mountain village of Elati.

Challenge: 7 hours, 19.5 km / 12 mi, 1215 m ascent, 995 m descent

Wonder at Elati’s woodcraft workshop this morning then walk down toward the Milaon Riverbed. Stumble upon Pirgaki Springs, source that supplies Vytina’s water, and pause to rest and collect water pouring out of stone walls at Makrinou Fountain. The riverside vegetation becomes even richer and towering plane trees surround you as you admire abandoned watermills and cross a capricious wooden bridge. Zigzagging up the valley on a path carved right out of the rock, you hit Artotsi Fountain and the nearby Agia Paraskevi Church with panoramic valley views and mountains all around. Take tiny roads into Vytina, chief village of this remote region with all sorts of services and scrumptious local food.

Challenge: 9 km / 5,5 mi, 3 hours, 350 m ascent, 500 m descent

Head from Vytina back to Artotsi Spring and pick up the zigzag path leading down to Mylaon River. Pause for a pic at the pretty wooden bridge then trek north upriver. Approaching Zarzi you come upon a gorgeous single-arch stone bridge with 2 coquettish side-openings and pass a peculiar limestone pillar walking up to Old Vytina. Back on the Menalon Trail you meet the Mavra Litharia, a massive limestone boulder, and come to a second ancient stone bridge – one which once connected Vytina to the western Gortynian villages. Rocks, bushes, oak groves and spruce forests accompany you and you hike downhill toward the tiny village of Nymfasia and your accommodation, situated on the route to Kernitsas Monastery.

Challenge: 4 hours, 12 km / 7,5 mi, 630 m ascent, 830 m descent

Step out to Kernitsa Bridge and clamber up a steep path to the huge monastery complex surrounded by immaculate terraced fields. Sit in silence for a bit, then walk off into a dense pine wood leading to the refreshing sacred spring at Sfyrida Hermitage. It’s easy to imagine ancient ascetics meditating in this mystic atmosphere. Hiking beneath the long steep slopes of Kastro, an age-old footpath leads to Gavros Spring and miniscule Magouliana, ideal for a tavern or café stop.
Once refreshed you amble along to a supreme vista point surrounded by stone threshing floors. A downhill stretch leads to the ruinous 1920’s Mana Sanatorium, then you hike uphill to the clustered building of Valtesiniko, known for its expert woodcarvers. Later, meet the pleasurable challenge of choosing a local tavern for dinner.

Challenge: 5.5 hours, 16 km / 10 mi, 1200 m ascent, 930 m descent

Viewed from the tip-top of Valtesiniko village, the northern plains spread out below you as a surfaced track surges up to 1250 metres. A regal ridge path connects to the crumbling Byzantine fortress of Valtesiniko and you find yourself surrounded by stunning wide-open landscapes on the way to Agia Triada Church. Seek some welcome shade in a cool pine wood and stop off at Krya Vrysi spring, then hike uphill again to a new perspective from the col. Lagkadia has finally come into view and fields give way to the Rapi Watermills as you approach. The Menalon Trail ends here, in the heart of this traditional village of ‘stone builders’.

Challenge: 5 hours, 14.3 km / 9 mi, 810 m ascent, 980 m descent

Your self-guided walking holiday comes to an end today after breakfast and you travel to Athens or Kalamata Airport.