(Click here for the complete tour description as document.)

You walk in Gortynia in the Arkadia district on the Peloponnese, the southern mainland of Greece The Menalon Trail is a 75 km long mountain trail, in 2015 qualified by ERA as Leading Quality Trail/Best of Europe. In this tour the Trail is covered in 6 daily stages.
It’s possible to do the Trail in 5 stages, so it will be a 6-day tour including the arrival and departure days. In that case you walk the stages of day 4 and 5 in one day and skip the overnight stay in Vytina. No other abbreviation of the tour is possible.

The trail head is Stemnitsa, located in the heart of the Peloponnese. Through the lush Lousios Gorge the trail straddles the Western Menalon massif and runs through the Valley of the Mylaon River until the lively town of Vytina. The trail is well-signposted and well-maintained.
For the logistics to the starting point and from the end point download the tour description.

It’s a tour for people who want to enjoy one of Europe’s best hiking tours without any worry about pathfinding.



Trip highlights

• Monasteries in the Lousios gorge.
• The Open Air Water Power museum in Dimitsana.
• The old stone bridge of Zarziou across the Mylaon river.
• Hidden hermitage of Sfyrida.
• Pure countryside in unknown areas of Greece at altitude 1000-1500m.

About the walks
The daily net walking time is between 3 and 7 hours (excluding the breaks). The 7-hour walk may be shortened to 5½ hours by starting in Zygovisti (taxi, own cost). The long distance trail leads you through lush forests, across old bridges, along impressive monasteries on craggy cliffs and through charming villages.

The walks are mostly via rocky footpaths, dirt roads and occasionally cobbled footpaths (kalderimia). The hiking area is situated on 1000-1500m altitude.

We advise you to arrive well trained and fit with well worn-in and ankle-high hiking boots. Thus you’ll get more pleasure out of your hiking holiday.