Strabo, the Greek geographer once said “when you decide to sail around Cape Malea, forget your home and family” meaning the place is scary and you are unlikely to make it back home. Today when you decide to visit Cape Malea, and broadly the peninsula of Vatika, you should bring your family with you as it’s a wonderful place for holidays.
The peninsula of Vatika which in ancient times was called the Kingdom of Voies
is located at the end of the Parnonas mountain range in Southeastern Laconia, and it now belongs to the Municipality of Monemvasia. There you will find the largest city of this area which is Neapoli.
Vatika is a hidden place: fossils of paleontological interest can be found here, then it’s a former pirate stronghold with castles from the Venetian period, it is a religious place, with many churches of byzantine and post-Byzantine era.
It’s a place that represents courage as it was an escape during the Turkish/Ottoman occupation. A place dedicated to seamanship. A unique place cut off from the world that charms every traveler!
The area offers both coastal and mountainous destinations. The seaside part includes a long beach, an uninterrupted coastline of 20 kilometers on the west side. The most famous are the beaches of La, Amitsa (Paleocastro), Neapoli,
Varkes, Neratzionas (Kampos),
Mangano (Agios Georgios), Pounta (Viglafia) and then Platanistos, Limnes (Pantanassa), Marathias (Elika), while on the other side (Aegean), beaches such as Varko, Panagia (Kastania) and Agios Pavlos and Agios Georgios appear.
The swimmers should never forget their goggles if they want to explore Pavlopetri, the oldest sunken mediterranean town located on Pounta beach. The sandy beach is the same as the famous Simos beach, in the island of Elafonisos, which is located just across.
If you like to get more information about the sunken city, please watch the BBC documentary, so you will be organised and aware of where exactly the sunken stones, the tombs and the lagoon can be found.
From the west side, there is a hiking trail
which ends up at Agios Georgios en Maleo
and Ayia Ireni Kavomalousa
and the monastic cell of Thomas en Maleo. Before the point where the hike starts, you can see the beach of Agia Marina.
Agia Marina has a lot of interesting sites including: the Ismal Haiki shipwreck, a climbing park, a geopark with giant stones and the petrified palm forest which was created by calcification. In the area of the petrified forest, you will have the opportunity to swim in the turquoise waters and lie on the smooth white rocks (like those of Milos).
At the cape, on the east side, there is a hiking trail that leads to Faros.
There, before at the tip of Southeastern Laconia, there is also the village of Velanidia, which is linked to Mikro Athos, as well as the German observatory.
In the village of Kastania there is a hidden gem: the cave of Kastania that was discovered relatively recently and is considered one of the best in Europe thanks to the rich decoration – in density and shapes – of stalagmites and stalactites.
In Lachi, Faraklo and Mesochori lies the whole view of the Laconian Gulf. Kalenia (Lachi) and Paradisi serve as ideal destinations to quench your thirst because of the mineral water. Mesochori has the castle of Ayia Paraskevi,
a castle during the Frango empire, which was recently restored.
Vatika has always been an important hub in history, but today it also functions as a crossroad, as most tourists are transferred to Kythira and Elafonisos.
Are you ready to explore?
You must be logged in to post a comment.