Short Trip Menalo-Vytina
Do you
like mountains? Do you feel that we all need to explore the nature? Do you enjoy
playing with the snow? Do you want to explore a different Greece than the one
that you already know?
If you answered yes to at least one of the above questions then you will love
the trip that we suggest you today!
So, here we suggest you a short trip that all locals from our area will take especially in the winter time in order to spend some time with their beloved ones enjoying the amazing route through the Greek mountains, taste some of the original traditional Greek cuisine, play with the snow, take some photographs at some graphic villages! The suggestion for today includes Mountain Menalo ,Vytina and Levidi.
If you take this trip at the winter time just drive carefully because all these places are at a high altitude where the temperature will be low and you might expect some snow as well.
So, the first place where you have to stop is the “Chalet Mainalonâ€. It is a mix store where you can enjoy a hot coffee or chocolate and in addition you can find a big variety of local products such as pasta, honey, traxana.
After you already have “collected†some heat at your body you go straight to the Ski Centre of Menalon. It is one of the most popular ski centers in the Peloponnese region. The route that you follow crosses the mountain and is a majestic route in the nature full of fir trees that especially in the summer time gives you the feeling that you are at the heaven!
The Ski Centre is at the very top of the mountain, it has a big variety of different activities that you can do and usually it is open between 9:00am – 4:00pm. In addition, the Ski centre includes different chalets to refill your energy and rental equipment stores in case you need to rent any equipment that will help you enjoy the snow routes at the mountain.
Taking the next route, you cross the mountain and on the other side you will find the popular village called Vytina. Vytina is located at 1.033 m. The village was very important in the liberation struggle of 1821 as it was the place where the injured soldiers would go during the war and the place where it was producing bread for the soldiers. This is the reason that the village had been burned from Ibrahim seven times during 1825 and 1826. Vytina is the homeland of many important Greeks such as Economides, Potagos and Dimakopoulos.
At the small village you will find several coffee shops and traditional Greek Tavenrs and some retail stores that sell local products as well. A lot of them are located at the main square of the village.
In Vytina there are some nice hiking routes for those who really enjoy walking in the nature. You can visit the Church St.Friday for a walking distance of aprox 800m or the Ag.Apostoloi for a same distance on the other side.
For those who really enjoy walking they can take the path that connects Vytina with the neighbour village Nymfasia and if you are not tired walk up the hill to the Monastery Kernitsa or if you feel that it is a big distance you can drive up to the Nymfasia village and then walk to the Monastery for a 3,6kms.
For the return we suggest you to take the highway that goes all the way round from the Menalo Mountain. As you leave Vytina do not forget to stop by the Greek primary school of Vytina with the nice columns and architecture.
On your way back you can stop at another small village called Levidi. There are not actually a lot that you can see there but at the main square you will find coffee shops where you can stop for a hot cup of tea or chocolate.
