There is a circular walk via a kalderimi, an old donkey path, from Old Kardamyli that takes you through the mountains and passes by ancient tombs, churches, lovely villages and offers splendid views.
In 2021 we did not do the circular route as we hoped to find Moni Lykaki which is on the other side of the gorge. The rather appalling weather put a stop to this as the small steep path to the monastery started off really promising but soon degenerated into a muddy, slippery slide. It then disappeared from sight altogether so we were rather sensible and turned back nursing a few cuts and bruises.
We did turn off the main path to have a look at Agia Sofia but had to take refuge in an empty adjacent building to have our picnic as the rain fell out of the sky.
In 2022 Leashia and I gave the monastery another go, this time we decided to walk up the dry river bed. The weather was steaming hot but we were at the river bed mid-morning and we were in the shade for most of the venture. It was a bit of a scramble at times and Leashia did fall down once [declaring she was having a rest] but we made it to the monastery which was hidden away on the left hand side of the gorge. The monastery was a bit overgrown and looking sorry for itself, and the church was locked. The highlight was possibly the friendly lizard who popped out to say hello.
After a brief rest we decided to head home via the steep path to the kalderimi on the other side to the monastery. This may have been the same path that we abandoned a couple of years before – yet again it seemed to have a life of its own and at times was very ovrergrown with vegetation and disappeared from sight. it was quite hard work. It was not until we neared Kardamyli Old Town on the kalderimi that we saw any other humans. The scrambled walk to the monastery and back took around three hours.
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