Winter Parnon – 3 villages for vacations
The winter on Parnonas is magical and especially the authentic villages of Kynouria are waiting for you.
KOSMAS is a mountain village in the municipality of South Kynouria. It is built in the south eastern part of Parnonas, at an altitude of 1,150meters, among fir forests.
The path through the fir and cedar forests is very exciting.
Also nearby is the historic town of Geraki (17km).
It has been officially designated as a traditional settlement.
The central square of the vil- lage, is covered with spectacular plane trees (planted in 1883), with picturesque cafes and taverns and magnificent views. In the center lies the beautiful church Agoioi Anargyroi.
Behind the sanctuary of the church there are three beautiful foun- tains which are constantly pouring their water.
The village houses are stone-built and the local traditional architecture. Around Kosmas there is a magnificent chestnut tree that forms a giant chest- nut forest – one of the largest in Greece – where you can enjoy your walk in nature.
Kosmas is also known for its local meats and honey. Its taverns offer good food and delicious roasts. In cafes you can taste wonderful topical sweets.
Agios Petros
Village in Parnonas full of green. It offers excellent accommodation with hotels, tavernas, shops with local products, it is a destination all year round, since it covers all the tastes.
The visit to Agios Petros can not be combined to the visit to the famous monastery of the area, the monastery of Malevis. Those who love climbing and nature will love it, since from the village start paths that end up in Mikri Tourla and Megali Tourla, the highest top of Parnonas, in 1936m far from the shelter, where you can stay for 6 hours.
Agios Ioannis Arkadias is a mountainous village built at an altitude of 725 m, 18 km west of Astros Kynouria.
Its contribution to the 1821 revolution was important, as he brought forth important personalities such as Panos Sariyannis and Anagnostis Papazoglou, as well as the inhab- itants of Astros, brothers Zafiropoulians (Ioannis Zafeiropoulos, Konstantinos Zafeiropoulos and Panagiotis Zafeiropoulos (Akouros), which played a key role in the preparation and during the revolution.
In 1826 the village was completely destroyed by the hordes of Ibrahim Pasha.
In 1845, the village became the base of the Kynouria District. From this village came Astros, which until 1961 was called Agiannitika Kalyvia, as well as some other settlements.
The village has many traditional fountains, such as Soularnari, Perdikoneri, Pigadaki, Moussa, Prodromou and others.
A little lower than the temple of the Baptist, there are 5 watermills surviving until recently and ground with Prodromos water. A few kilometers outside the village lies the Castle of Oria, built in 1256 by the Fran- conian ruler William II of Villehardouin, in order to subdue the Tsakones in the area.
Very close to the village, there are also the famous Bloodfalls.
The village has traditional buildings, guest houses, taverns and is planted with trees.
The Tsakonian Easter
Leonidio
The Easter celebration in Leonidio is a unique experience. All the parishes compete each-other every year for the most beautiful Epitaph, whose procession is met in the town’s center, where they chant all together with a common Prayer. The celebration’s peaks in Leonidio is on the night of Resurrection, when the construction and the elevation of colorful hot-air balloons takes place, lightening gratefully the Tsakonian sky, a uniquely spectacular custom.
Tyros
The Easter traditions and the unique way of celebrating Easter, pose great interest for the visitors of N. Kynouria. At Tyros the procession of the bier of Christ takes place along the beach accompanied by fishing boats. On the night of Holy Saturday, thousands of candles are placed on the sea which light up the bay and symbolize the lost souls of the Tsakonian sailors and fishermen. Also, the Tsakonians have the tradition of burning Judas in the sea on a special raft. At Leonidio and Tyros on the evening of Easter Sunday, during the ritual of love as it is called, the Bible is read in the Tsakonian dialect.
Photos Credits: Tranas Konstantinos – leonidion.gr & visitkynouria.gr archives
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Zarmpanitsas Canyon
It was created by the amount of water of the Vrasiati river. It is a very big gorge that starts from the castle of Zaggolis and ends up to Agios Andreas. In order to cross it you need knowledge and equipment, because it has two difficult and dangerous spots that cannot be passed by easily. To the Zarbanitsa gorge, you can reach from Platanos through Spilakia. The scenery is impressive, since both left and right there are high rocks. In summer the visitor can view the waterfalls and small lakes and why not swim.
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Platanos Canyon
The village with plenty of water and the waterfall in the south entrance has the famous Spilakia gorge that has dense growth and ends up to the Vrasiati river. The gorge is suitable for trekking and walking close to nature – there is also the cave of Sotiras. The gorge leads to one of the greatest gorges of Parnonas, the one of Zarbanitsas. You can visit it in September, when the local club organizes gamble competitions, after the unforgettable experience of the gorge.
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Lepidas Canyon
Even if it is not particularly big, it has natural beauty. To reach the gorge you can go either from Kato Doliana or from the villages of Kastri. It has 2 waterfalls, the big one oh 70m and the small one of 45m, that impress the visitor. Apart from the view, the walker can admire a variety of flora and fauna that are in abundance in Parnonas. It is actually said that you can count 80 species of herbs and plants. The gorge is suitable for extreme sports and canyoning. For those who want to try the gorge, it has two impressive waterfalls, jumps and slides in clean water. You need 6 hours to cross the gorge, good knowledge of swimming as well and previous experience.
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Lepidas Waterfalls
The great waterfalls are in the gorge in a distance of 4km from the village Agios Ioannis of Parnonas. The big waterfall has height 70m and the small one 45m. The climbing clubs organise canyoing and rapel there. These waterfalls are considered to be of the most beautiful, but unknown miracles of nature of Parnonas. The rocks around the waterfalls are brown and the water falls harshly on them. The are smells origan, sage as the small plane-trees make a picturesque scenery. In summer there is a pond for swimming.
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Mazias Canyon
One of the most beautiful gorges of Parnonas that offers unique experiences to the visitor and expects to discover it. The gorge starts after Kastanitsa and is crossed by a river, surrounded by green, mostly plane trees, and huge rocks. Through the gorge, you can reach the Monastery of Kontolinas. Walking through the gorge is really hard, but nature is brilliant and the area is really interesting because of the variety of herbs, as during the route you can see a lot of half-destroyed watermills.
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Leonidio Climbing Park
Undoubtedly, Leonidio is a place inextricably linked to its impressive 250-meter high slope. The Kokkinovrachos, as the locals call it, towering over the city center and attracts the gaze unintentionally. The first climbing attempts on red rock, by D. Sotiraki and A. Theodoropoulos the route “Pillar of Fire”, the 80s were in the limelight among residents.
After 27 years of absence, frequent visits of famous Swiss climbers Claude and Yves Remy, in order to seek appropriate fields to open new climbing routes, were successful! During their stays in Leonidio thrown some 25 new routes amounting to 25-40 meters with difficulty 5 to 7c and follows and then!
The traditional town still offers a pleasant way of life and is the perfect place to choose for a relaxing and/or active vacation!
Currently, there are more than 1000 routes across a wide range of grades, and there is still potential for many more.
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Moustos Wetland
It is one of the two wetlands of Eastern Peloponnisos – the other is the one of Fokianos. It is 4km far from Astros and it is a shelter of migratory birds. The flora of the region is also extremely important. The lake is supplied with water of springs and lead to the gulp of Astros through two canals. With the ecological park of Parnonas, it has been placed to Natura 2000 and it is a preserved region. The environmental importance of the lake is huge as it is said that there was the old port of Astros. The water of the lake is brackish and has healing properties because of the sulfides that contain it. This water is suitable for those who have rheumatic and other diseases. Apart from the Lake of Moustos, there is a smaller lake of Herronisiou, that extends in 20m and its water gushes from the hill. The lake leads directly to the sea.
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Elliniko (or Teihio)
It is 8km from astros to the villages of Parnonas. At this point there is an inscription of the archaeologists that leads to a rural road and after 2km the visitor arrives at a valley, that is the start of a 15min route that leads to the top of the hill. There you can see ruins of walls, buildings and underground cisterns of Ano Thireas or Niriidas. North of Elliniko, at 500m there is a stone-made shed of Barlas, that was built over the ruins of an ancient temple, probably of the Apollon.
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