Our quiet small town of Neàpoli, the last one of European continent. Go East to... Asia, go South to... Africa!
Yearly parade on Neàpoli's main street 40 days before Eastern. Let us celebrate the end of the cold season!
OUR AREA
At the Southernmost tip of Cape Maleas is the region known as Vies or more commonly "Vatika". The landscape here presents striking contrasts; the central mountain range of Krithina (800 meter) ends abruptly at the tip of the cape, dipping down on each side into coves and beaches that were once the haunt of famous pirates.
A recently restored stone lighthouse stand as sentinel at the cape Maleas to guide seafarers through what has been known since Antiquity as a fearsome passage in bad weather.
Around the cape to the West lays the calm bay of Neàpoli, providing shelter from heavy seas. Backed by the fertile plain of Kambos, it is next to the long sandy beaches of Neraziona (2km) and Mangano (5km) southwest from our village of Agioi Apostoloi. Above this one stands our guesthouse among thousands of dark olive trees, with view from everywhere to the sea and rather close to the ghost-village of Sklavouna with its for more than one century mostly abandoned houses on each part of a narrow rocky valley leading to the marvellous church of Pandanasa Myrtidiotisa.
Most of the villages in this region were built on the steep mountainside, some of them invisible from the sea, as a protection from pirate raids. Their white houses and narrow streets, particularly in Velanidia, are reminiscent of the Aegean Islands with which the local population has always had frequent contact as fishermen and seamen.
Vatika has also some of the most interesting natural sights in the region, particularly the caves of Agios Andreas at Kastania. Also worth visiting is the Petrifyed forest at Agia Marina and the wetland at the Strongyli Lagoon, surrounded by the sand dunes covered with rare cedar trees, next to the settlement of Viglafia, just after the village of Agios Georgios.
One of the most important archaeological project in recent years has been at Pavlopetri, the oldest known submerged town in the world, whose ruins lie in shallow water just off the beach of Pounta, visible to the swimmers.
Just a 15 minutes ferry ride from Pounta are the magical white sandy beaches of Elafonisos, a lovely pictural small island perfect for a day's excursion.
Source: Greek regional official website description
