Kalavryta-Rack railway/Cave of Lakes, private tour from Athens/ Nafplion (10h)

About this activity

See the boat

+34

What is included

Itinerary

1. 1
   Corinth Canal

   15 min - The marvelous man-made Corinth canal connecting the Aegean and Ionian seas, as well as the Peloponnese peninsula with the central part of Greece. More than 2500 workers digging 6.400m for twelve years (from 1881 to 1893). Stop for photography, walk across on a pedestrian bridge and admire the canal from 80 m high

2. 2
   Diakopto

   15 min - Diakopto is a town and a former municipality in Achaea / Peloponnese. The town of Diakopto is situated on the Gulf of Corinth, near the mouth of the Vouraikos river and at the lower end of the Vouraikos Gorge. From Diakopto train station you will buy your tickets for this unique rack rail way train to Kalavryta. Train fee 10€ (Diakopto- Kalavryta/ one way) For weekends or holidays, please purchase your tickets online in prior time.

3. 3
   Stop 3

   1 hr 8 min - You’ll be hard-pressed to find a train journey as spectacular as that of the rack railway that links the seaside village of Diakopto to picturesque Kalavryta. Take the Diakopto–Kalavryta Railway, an historic 750 mm gauge cog railway in Greece. It runs 22 km (14 mi) through the Vouraikos Gorge, stopping on route at Zachlorou. It is one of the most beautiful natural sights plus one of the most spectacular railway rides. The little train travels through streams, climbing the majestic narrow gorge, up into the mountains, through bridges and tunnels, over waterfalls, along cliffs and through forest of pine and oak trees. When the incline gets really steep it switches form regular track to a cog system.

4. 4
   Kastria Cave of the Lakes

   1 hr - The Cave of the Lakes, is located near the village Kastria. It is 17 km from Kalavryta. The cave is an old subterranean river consisting of three levels. During the winter when the snow melts it is transformed into a flowing river with waterfalls. During the summer, it dries up, leaving behind 13 lakes. Daily from 09:30 to 16:30 Holidays and summer time extension Tickets Adults: 9,00 €. Children/ Over 65: 4,50 €.

5. 5
   Kalavryta

   1 hr - Kalavryta a popular traditional mountain village. Visit Museum & town. In early December 1943, the German Army's 117th Jäger Division began a mission named Unternehmen Kalavryta (Operation Kalavryta), intending to encircle Greek Resistance fighters in the mountainous area surrounding Kalavryta. During the operation, 78 German soldiers, who had been taken prisoner by the partisans in October, were executed by their captors. In response, the commander of the German division, General Karl von Le Suire personally ordered the "severest measures" — the killing of the male population of Kalavryta — on 10 December 1943. Operation Kalavryta was mounted from six cities: Patras, Aigion, and Cornith on the Gulf of Corinth and from Argos, Pyrgos and Tripolis in central Peloponnese. All "Battle-Groups" were aimed at Kalavryta, although the divisions from Pyrgos, Argos, and Corinth returned to their bases soon after.

6. 6
   The Municipal Museum of the Kalavryta Holocaust

   30 min - Kalavryta a popular traditional mountain village. Visit Museum & town. In early December 1943, the German Army's 117th Jäger Division began a mission named Unternehmen Kalavryta (Operation Kalavryta), intending to encircle Greek Resistance fighters in the mountainous area surrounding Kalavryta. During the operation, 78 German soldiers, who had been taken prisoner by the partisans in October, were executed by their captors. In response, the commander of the German division, General Karl von Le Suire personally ordered the "severest measures" — the killing of the male population of Kalavryta — on 10 December 1943. Operation Kalavryta was mounted from six cities: Patras, Aigion, and Cornith on the Gulf of Corinth and from Argos, Pyrgos and Tripolis in central Peloponnese. All "Battle-Groups" were aimed at Kalavryta, although the divisions from Pyrgos, Argos, and Corinth returned to their bases soon after.

7. 7
   Mega Spileo Monastery

   45 min - The monastery is located in a large cave in a sheer cliff, where the western slopes of Mount Chelmos drop down to the gorge of the Vouraikos river. The cave was known in antiquity, and the geographer Pausanias reports that the daughters of Proetus found refuge there during their madness. In the first Christian centuries, Christian hermits occupied the cave. According to tradition, the monastery is one of the oldest in Greece, reputedly founded in 362 by the Thessalonian brothers Symeon and Theodore, who with the help of Euphrosyne (a local shepherdess, honored as saint for her part in these events) discovered in the cave the icon of the Theotokos painted by Luke the Evangelist. Several of the monks became members of the Filiki Etaireia and took part in the Greek War of Independence. On 8 December 1943, the German 117th Jäger Division destroyed the monastery and executed 22 monks and visitors as part of reprisals that culminated a few days later with the Massacre of Kalavryta.

8. 8
   Athens

   Return to Athens this time by car. Tour is private, if you wish other location (up to prior request & agreement)

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