The Deep Mani [Mesa Mani]

The drive to Gerolimenas from Areopoli is wonderful and takes you past deserted coves, tower houses, ancient churches, sleepy villages and ‘The Frying Pan’. The roads are empty, just the occasional car. Supermarkets are few and far between in the Deep [Mesa] Mani, although there is a decent one on the main road just south of Gerolimenas, so bring plenty of snacks and water with you.

To the east of Gerolimenas is Gythio, the capital of the Mani. Heading south of Gerolimenas you will discover the famous near abandoned village of Vathia. However, even closer to Gerolimenas is the less well known Mountainistika, scroll down this page for more informaton and photos. After Vathia it’s not far to the very bottom of the Peloponnese –Cape Tenaro.

Erimos Sinkhole

Heading south towards Gerolimenas you will probably whizz past Erimos. If you have the time it’s worth searching out the amazing sinkhole on the edge of the village. It’s not far from the small pretty Church of Agia Barbara. On my visit the sign pointing to the sinkhole had been destroyed. The road there is dreadful, so park by the [not] sign and walk the 20 minutes or so to the sinkhole.

There are lovely views of The Frying Pan to the left as you walk to the sinkhole which is on the right of the path and it’s so big that you can see it on Google Earth. It is very deep and shady and there is a mini forest growing within and if you listen carefully you can hear dinosaurs rampaging in the depths below. It’s amazing that nobody has bothered to mention this to the outside world but perhaps it’s best as a well kept secret! The sides of the sinkhole are vertical, so do not attempt to climb down.

Churches and ruins.

You can easily spend the day roaming around the sleepy villages to the east of The Frying Pan. You could then head to Mezapos to swim in the bay after exploring, [see photo at the top of the page].

Briki has a ruined tower house and few churches in various states of decay: Agios Nikolaos [13th century] is tiny but you can still see the frescos although they are in a pretty poor state. Agios Giorgios‘ roof has fallen in and is covered in undergrowth and looks a bit sorry for itself. Finally, Agios Leon [10th Century] is hidden in an olive grove off the main road to the left as you enter the village from the north. You have to battle your way through the undergrowth to get inside through the tiny entrance.

Mina has some lovely tower houses dotted around and is mentioned by Patrick Fermor in his celebrated book- Mani. Polemitas has a couple of tiny churches adjacent to each other- Church of Archangel Michael and Agios Nikolaos which are both likely to be locked but you may be able to see inside through the iron doors. The defensive settlement of Agios Giorgios which is just off the main road on the way to Mezapos is also worthy of a visit. There is a central tall tower surrounded by smaller houses all in various states of ruin. Some areas are cordoned off as the buildings are in an unsafe condition.

Vlacherna is a 12th century church near Mezapos. It is is lovely but watch out for the huge spiders and their webs strewn across the path. [Remember Shelob!].

Of all of the churches mentioned above, the 12th century Episkopi Chruch was my favritist! It is a bit hidden away and poorly signposted but we found it with the help of Google Maps. The path to it has collapsed in places so it was a bit of a scramble at times. We thought the door would be locked but we struck lucky, the door swung open! The frescos within are truly wonderful. The views of Tigani are great too.

Mountanistika

The near abandoned town of Vathia to the south of Gerolimenas is well known. Mountanistika to the east is less so and is well worth a visit. It’s one of the highest villages in the Mani so the views are amazing and the mountain drive to get there is spectacular but a bit hairy if you are afraid of heights.