Arcadia

Arcadia Overview

Hike the Menalon Trail the On Foot way, from one remote stone village to the next, through mountains and wooded valleys. Visit ancient monasteries built in precarious positions in the valleys, and stay in traditional family-run guesthouses.

Arcadia, the fabled home of the god Pan, was revered in the Renaissance as symbolic of unspoiled, harmonious wilderness; referenced by Virgil as “locus amoenus” – pleasant place, where shepherds sing of their loves and losses. It lies in the centre of the Peloponnese (the land south of the Corinth Canal).

Using many of the old paths and mule tracks that linked the villages with the fields, pastures and forests of this remote part of Greece, the Menalon Trail winds through scenic hills and some pretty (and still thriving) ancient stone villages.

Enjoy the villages for their tavernas, local industries (for example jewellery in Stemnitsa), little shops, churches and old houses, but above all a sense of life and liveliness that few can match. If you are lucky, the local dancers will be performing, and the wine will flow freely.

This is an area visited by Greeks in the winter, while the spring and autumn are the preserve of the hill walkers. Even the summer is possible (though July in particular can be very hot) as much of the walking is in native pine and fir forest, with dappled sunlight enlivening the shade.

This walk could be used as the core of a longer holiday in the region – perhaps you could take in the sites of Mycenae, Epidaurus, Olympia and many others, or spend some days on the beach in relatively unspoiled resorts; you could leave a hire car at Dimitsana while you walk the route.

Five and four night versions of this holiday are also available. See the On Foot Holidays website for details of prices and dates.