The Mani, then a rock above the sea
A week through the wildest part of the Peloponnese: the Mani's stone tower villages and Cape Tainaron, then east across the Malea peninsula to Monemvasia, a Byzantine town invisible from the mainland road.
- Length
- 7 days · 6 nights
- Months
- April – June, September – November
- Stops
- 4
The route on a map
1 · 2 nights
Kardamyli
A stone-built village between the Taygetos and the sea, with the Vyros gorge rising behind it.
2 · 2 nights
Areopoli
The unofficial capital of the Mani, a cluster of tower houses and a base for Cape Tainaron and the Diros caves.
3 · A day here
Cape Tainaron
The southernmost point of mainland Greece, mythologically an entrance to the underworld.
4 · 2 nights
Monemvasia
A Byzantine town built into the seaward face of a rock, reached across a short causeway.
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival at Kalamata
Sleep · Kardamyli
Fly into Kalamata and drive forty minutes south, arriving in time for an evening swim off the pebble beach.
Day 2
The Vyros gorge on foot
Sleep · Kardamyli
A half-day walk on the old kalderimi up into the gorge past Exochori, back down for a late lunch by the water.
Day 3
South into the Mani
Sleep · Areopoli
A drive south through Itilo to Areopoli, with an afternoon in the Diros caves and their underground lake.
Day 4
Cape Tainaron and the tower villages
Sleep · Areopoli
Down the peninsula's spine through Vathia's abandoned towers to the lighthouse, walking the last stretch.
Day 5
East to Monemvasia
Sleep · Monemvasia
A three-hour drive across the Malea peninsula; check into a room inside the walls of the lower town.
Day 6
Inside the rock
Sleep · Monemvasia
A full day on foot and a climb to the upper fortress and the church of Agia Sofia.
Day 7
Departure
Departure
A morning walk before the drive north to Athens or Kalamata for the return flight; a departure day.