Kalavryta and Cave of Lakes Full Day Tour

The Corinth Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, arguably making the peninsula an island. The canal was dug through the Isthmus at sea level and has no locks. It is 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) in length and only 21.4 meters (70 ft) wide at its base, making it impassable for most modern ships. Nowadays it has little economic importance and is mainly a tourist attraction. The canal was initially proposed in classical times and a failed effort was made to build it in the 1st century AD. Construction started in 1881 but was hampered by geological and financial problems that bankrupted the original builders. It was completed in 1893 but, due to the canal's narrowness, navigational problems and periodic closures to repair landslides from its steep walls, it failed to attract the level of traffic expected by its operators.

The Holy Monastery of Mega Spileo stands 10 km from Kalavryta, on the main road near Zachlorou. Built into a sheer rock face at 924 m, it offers sweeping balcony views. Resembling a fortress, the eight-story complex encircles a cave with the monks’ cells. Tradition says it was founded in 362 AD by brothers Symeon and Theodore after a shepherd girl found a wax-and-mastic icon of the Virgin Mary in the cave, believed to be painted by Apostle Luke. Burned by the Iconomachs in 840, it was rebuilt in 1285 by Emperor Andronikos Palaiologos, yet fires in 1600 and 1934 destroyed its library and relics. Rebuilt again, it was torched by Nazi troops in 1943 after the Kalavryta massacre; twelve monks and staff were killed. Today it endures: a 17th-century church with notable frescoes, mosaics, and a bronze relief door, plus a museum of carved crosses, manuscripts, and Gospels. The monastery celebrates August 15, honoring the Virgin Mary.

Kalavryta is a mountainous town on the northern side of Peloponnese. This town has historical importance as one of the cruelest massacres took place there during World War II, when the Nazi troops killed the entire male population. As tradition says, it was also in Kalavryta, at the Monastery of Agia Lavra, where the Greek Revolution against the Ottomans was declared on March 25th, 1821. Holidays in Kalavryta are great for the winter season due to the close ski center that has opened on the slopes of Mount Helmos. At Kalavryta the visitor has the potentiality to stroll around the town, taste its local products and enjoy his lunch or his coffee.

In the village Kastria of Achaia lies the famous “Cave of the Lakes”. It is a rare creation of Nature. Apart from its labyrinth of corridors, its mysterious galleries and its strange stalactite formations, the “Cave of the Lakes” has something exclusively unique that does not exist in other well known caves. Inside the cave there is a string of cascading lakes forming three different levels that establish its uniqueness in the world. The cave is an old subterranean river whose explored length is 1980 meters. In winter when the snow melts, the cave is transformed into a subterranean river with natural waterfalls. In the summer months, part of the cave dries up revealing a lace-work of stone-basins and dams of up to 4 m. in height. The rest of the cave retains water permanently throughout the year in 13 picturesque lakes.