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Day trip
The Laconian Mani and the Diros caves
Stone villages, tower houses and a cave you explore by boat: the wild beauty of the Mani.
- 125 km
- about 2.5 hours to the caves
The Mani is a byword for wild beauty: barren, rocky land, stone villages with towers and people with strict traditions. Its name is said to come from the word “manos”, meaning sparse, bare of trees.
A little history
The area has been lived in for a very long time: traces of Neanderthals, among the oldest in Greece, have been found in the caves of the Mani.
What to see
Via Gytheio you reach the Laconian Mani. Areopoli, Oitylo and Limeni are worth a stop, and further south Kita with its many tower houses and Vatheia, the best-known tower village.
On the road from Areopoli to Gerolimenas, a sign leads to the Diros caves, among the most beautiful in Greece: you visit them by boat, among stalactites reflected in the water.
Good to know
This is the furthest trip on this page, about two and a half hours to the caves: set off early, as in summer there is a queue at the caves. Check opening hours before you go.
