Time Out ... Hiking The Peloponnese Mountains

May 30, 2024

This month I took time out away from my drawing board to walk The Menalon Trail, a challenging hiking route in the Peloponnese Mountains of Greece. Together with a couple of my hiking friends, we set out on our 5 day hike from the quaint, mountain village of Lagkadia and walked through mile upon mile of alpine flower meadows intermixed with mossy pine forests, fringed with scented, yellow broom, leading us to the equally beautiful Valtesiniko.

 The second day was the toughest of the hike: 15 miles up and down mountains, limestone gorges and pretty glades in the heart of Arcadia. We enjoyed breath-taking views of the Peloponnese Mountains peppered with flowers, simple stone churches, shrined and arched bridges over babbling brooks, not dissimilar to what we would see in the heart of Derbyshire, England.  We slept in the mountain village of Vytina, feasting on the local produce.

 

The third day filled us with more of the same verdant joy. It was a shorter day but full of wildlife: woodpeckers, tortoises and iridescent beetles, bumbling along their way, just like us! Each night we have stayed in different villages and tonight we stayed in the home of Vanna and enjoyed delicious, home cooked Greek food, in her beautiful stone cottage, high up on the side of a mountain.

 

A blanket of dusty sand swept in from the Sahara, created hot, muggy and dusty walking conditions but fortunately, we hiked 12 miles from Elati through mainly shaded pine forests, for which we were very thankful. As we have been walking the hike from back to front, we have met so many wonderful fellow walkers along the way from all corners of the globe, sharing stories of hiking on The Menalon Trail.

 

The temperatures rose on the last day of the hike, and I prepared myself for 9 miles of hiking up and down mountains in the searing heat. We set off early and had lots of pit stops at the mountain monasteries dotted along the way. Fortunately in the heat of afternoon, I was walking by waterfalls and streams of water, into which I sporadically thrust my hand and threw water onto my head, cooling myself down as best I could.

 

I arrived in Dstemita after a long, hard climb up hill and with that, finished the 75km magnificent Menalon Trail with a sense of achievement and many, happy memories. For more information check out the Menalon Trail and On Foot Holidays Self Guided Walks.

 

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