AROUND US

In this section we have put together ideas and information that we hope will be useful for organising your day trips during your stay at our campsite.

The choice of Camping Mani Beach for your vacations offers you unlimited possibilities for excursions and visits throughout the whole area.

You have the chance to enjoy, easy and fast, locations of unique natural beauty like :

-The castle town of Monemvasia

-The Byzantine site of Mystras

-The historical museum of Mani

-Gythio

-The historical museum of Mani

-The Castle of Kelefas

-The town of Areopoli

-The caves of Diros

-Kythira Island

-The Fort of Passavas

 

The castle town of Monemvasia

The area of Monemvasia Greece is a beautiful medieval fortress located in the south east coast of the Peloponnese.

The name Monemvasia derives from the Greek words "Mone" and "Embasia" which means "Single entrance". The medieval castle-town of Monemvasia -or Palia Monemvasia- stands on a 300-meter high rock off the east coast of the Peloponnese and is connected to the mainland through a bridge.

It is also called "Malvasia", the " Gibraltar of the East" or simply "the Rock".

The town is of great interest and full of amazing buildings.

 

The Byzantine site of Mystras

Mystras was a fortified town in Morea (the medieval Peloponnese), on Mt. Taygetos, near ancient Sparta. In the 14th and 15th centuries, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering. The site remained inhabited throughout the Ottoman period, when it was mistaken by Western travellers for ancient Sparta. It was abandoned in the 1830s, when the new town of Sparti was built, approximately eight kilometres to the east.

It's design as a Late Byzantine fortified settlement, makes it important enough to be on the World Heritage List.

 

Gythio

Gythio is located in middle south of Peloponese at the center of the Laconian Gulf. It is a lively, charming little harbour town. The most of its houses are two- or three-storey neo-classical mansions, stuck to the steep side of the Mt. "Koumaros". A long sea-side promenade, the colourful fishing boats, the narrow streets and stairways produce the typical Greek environment which faszinates every visitor

Gythio is protected by spurs of the mighty Taygetos mountain range. Its highest "Profitis Ilias", with 2.407 m the highest mountain on the whole Peloponnese, makes a marvellous background scene.

A little island called "Kranai" and connected with the mainlaind by a short dam, protects the port of Gythio town from the open sea. It is a beautiful place with pine-trees and an ideal view-point to overlook the gulf towards the Parnon mountain range in the east and Taygetos in the north-west. As it is reported by Homer, the island was the first refuge of Helen and Paris on their journey to Troy. According to the myth, paris forgot his helmet on the islet as he was leaving - hence its name, since in Greek a helmet is calles "kranos".

 

The historical museum of Mani

An interesting site on island Kranai is the restored Tzannetakis Tower, a Maniot fortress-residence belonging to the Tzannetakis-Grigorakis families. It was donated to the state and currently houses the History and Ethnology Museum of Mani. Also worth visiting are the chapel of Agios Petros and the octagonal lighthouse of 22 m height, built in 1873 of tenarian marble.

 

The Ancient Theatre of Gythio

The ancient theatre of Gythio lies to the north of the modern city, close to the ancient town. It is a Roman theatre and consists one of the most important archaeological sites of the area. It was initially built in the 1st century, but it was renovated under the Roman emperor Augustus. It had simple stone seats in all rows except for the first, which was made of marble. 
The diameter of the auditorium is approximately 75m and some Roman buildings are placed behind. It is small theatre, but still well-preserved.

This is also where the thymelic performances used to take place. The thymelic was a song contest dedicated to god Dionisos, which included a parade and a sacrifice to the Roman emperors. Today, although the site is abandoned, there are some cultural events taking place in this theatre every summer, as part of the Festival of Gythio. They include ancient drama performances, public speeches and music concerts.

 

The Castle of Kelefas

It is located 40km from Gythio, close to Kelefas village.
This Castle is a large rectangular construction with only 2 towers left, out of 4 that originally had. It protected the area man times but now it is much ruined.