Trekking

If you are big fans of trekking you will find dozens of paths of gradated difficulty and you will enjoy routes harmonically carved in to the natural environment. The paths in the area of Leonidio lead to small churches around the town which were used to connect the town with the surrounded settlements by the time that there were no streets and the transportation was conducted on foot or with mules.

Panorama of Leonidio Mylos Manolaki-Dexameni(water tank) – Saint Giannis : 1 hour

You take the road from the mill of Georgaki-Manolaki with direction to the Monastery of Elona and 500 meters after the farm with the cows, you turn right to the dirt road. After 20 minutes of uphill you get to the stream of Fokou, you get across and you cross the field with the olive trees that leads to the stream of Salas. Next, you follow the path, you pass the farm with the sheep and you follow the dirt road that leads you to the road for Vaskina. You go straight ahead to the asphalted road and after 100 meters you follow the dirt road for the Tank of Leonidio. The view is fantastic and it will reward you, as you walk under the shadow of the pompous red rock, you enjoy the sight of the town right in front of you while you see the valley and the deep-blue sea of Myrtoon Sea from above. After the tank you take the path that leads to the church of Saint-Giannis at the area of Sios. Don’t forget to take a camera with you!

Profitis Elias – The path of pines: 1.30 hour

From the section Koilaso to the place Skylohori you pass by the last houses of the town and you follow the path that passes through the field with the olive trees and the carob trees. The scenery of the nature alters pleasantly when you reach the pine tree path of the hill, where the scenic small church of Profitis (Prophet) Elias prevails on the top. The view of the town there is fantastic, while on the eastern side your look is captured by the blue of the horizon that knits harmonically with the sea.

Agios Nikolaos – Sintzas: 2 hours

An asphalted route with its main characteristic the bands of the street and the uphill route. Starting from the church of Saint Haralambos, you cross the enclosed area with the apricot trees and the small church of Agios Georgios. In the half of the route you can rest on the bench right next to the Cross. The view of the monastery will impress you as the monastery seems to have snuggled into the natural shelter of the hollowed out rocks. You can visit the Monastery, admire the view through the gorge and feel the awe that the orange rocks create by being risen right above your head. The descent is very easy and of course more brief than the ascent.

Leonidio – Petsina – Skali of Red Rock : 1.30-2 hours

You follow the dirt road from the graveyard of the little church of Agii Pandes and in about 500 meters you turn left to the path that goes through the olive trees to the rock. The route goes right through a narrow way of the red rock, a place known as the Step (skali) of the red rock. In the past, people used mules to pass through. After 15 minutes of walking you get to the cypress of Kato Petsina. From there you can see the Parnonas Mountain on the West, the Myrtoon Sea on the right, while view of the town is amazing.

Leonidio – Pragmatefti: 2:30 hours

You take the dirt road from the graveyard of the church of Agioi Pandes to the sheep pen and you follow the cobbled road right through the ravine that leads to the small valley of Limnes above the village of Pragmatefti. You slope down to the beautiful small village that is built on the ridge of the mountain and you get to the square with the magnificent view as in the northeast you can see the Argolic Bay and in the southeast you see the Myrtoon Sea.

Leonidio – Vaskina : 2.30 hours

When you reach the ninth turn of the road to the settlement of Vaskina you follow the path that passes under the twin caves. One of the few remaining well-preserved stone-paved path of the area that was used until the 1980 as a mule road and it connected Leonidion with Vaskina. You pass from the Fokou site and the Salas or Pountas and you reach the Eftadendri. At Pounta where the old public cistern remains you can make a small stop to cool yourself, take a glance of the Parnonas from the west and admire the streams with the amazing sharp rocks right in front of you. You end up to the small tableland, right next to the crotch that leads to the settlement of Ano and Kato Vaskina.

Poulithra – Saint George: 1.30 hour

Behind the small port of the village starts the path that leads to the beautiful small church of Saint George. A delightful, easy walking along the beach with the rhythmical flop of the waves right next to you, while on the right the green of the mountain slopes down smoothly and meets harmonically the blue of the sea. The church is built on the rocks that get wet by the sea and refers to the scenery of an island.

Tsitalia – Saint Athanasios from Tsitalia: 2.30 hours

At the crossing in front of the elementary school of Tsitalia you turn left, you pass the sheep pen of Bala and you reach the small tableland and you get the path on the left. You cross the public water-tank with the icon stand and you slope down the mountain. At the crossing you turn right for the church of Saint Thanasis. This is a passage through green with an amazing variety of plants and herbs. The arbutus bushes will impress you. As you walk you observe Leonidio and the small tableland you follow the winding path and you go through the ruins of the first temple of Saint Athanasios that is right on the top of the mountain. The path leads you right from the side of the sea where the landscape changes. The view of Plaka and the bay of Poulithra is amazing while in the background you can see the cape of Bournia and the islands Parapola and Spetses.

Pragmatefti-Melana: 2 hours

A well-preserved cobbled road, in parallel to the ridge of the mountain, connects the two settlements. From the square of the village Pragmatefti you go uphill to the graveyard which is at the end of the village. You turn left and you take the path that leads to the spot Stavros, right next to Saint Nectarios church, you cross vertically the dirt road and you follow the path. A small stop to the icon-stand of Agios Nikolaos is necessary to enjoy the view and when you continue you reach the settlement of Melana where you can freshen up at the spring of the village.

Elona – Douskias – Saint Dimitrios – Pournaros

Starting from the spring which is right under the Monastery of Elona you cross the stream and you go uphill the stone path that passes by the spring with the cypress that lead to Kosmas. You reach the tableland of Pournaros which is 1000m altitude and we rest at the small church of Saint Dimitrios which is surrounded with fir trees. On our route we can find fir trees, cedar trees and other rare plants. In the return, we see right in front of us the imposing canyon right next to the monastery of Elona.

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