After spending a beautiful night at the Asclepieio of Gortys we decided to join Rennate and George, a German couple we met the day before, for a morning hike at Lousios gorge. Christos went fishing trout at the river.
We first headed towards the Prodromou Monastery. The path goes through the gorge near the Lousios river. The scenery is spectacular. High rocks over our heads. Wild and noisy river as it rushes through the rocky terrain creating small waterfalls.
The Prodromou Monastery at Lousios Gorge
The path goes uphill after passing the bridge. Time for some deep breathing! I was sweating when we reached the monastery. Luckily the first thing we encountered was a spring with tasty cool water.
The Prodromou monastery, established during the 16th century, is well preserved, built on a huge rock which acts as a shelter. It’s a male monastery and as in all monasteries, women have to be dressed properly to enter. There’s a collection of clothes hanging at the yard, in front of the main entrance.
The impressive old rusty door, full of bullet holes, was closed. It seems that we arrived too early and the monks were praying at the church.
We decided to visit the nearby church of Saint Athanasios. Seated a bit higher than the monastery, it offers a panoramic view of the gorge and the monasteries of Philosophou build at the other side of the gorge.
Back to the Prodromou monastery and the old door is open now. The long hallway leads to an upgoing stair.
The view from the balcony to the gorge is amazing. Pretty high too. The river hum is loud.
There’s a small church almost inside a cave in the monastery. Cool, low light, old paintings on the rocky walls.
A monk offered us coffee and loukoumi, a chewy candy dusted in powdered sugar.
The Philosophou Monastery at Lousios Gorge
On the path again towards the old Philosophou monastery, the oldest monastery in Arcadia, and one of the oldest byzantine monuments in the country, established in 963 AC. It’s all ruins now since it got abandoned in 1836. Really impressive!
Build like a swallow nest on the huge rock and fortified with high walls, its’ only entrance has been a narrow one-man path that could cause a real problem to people with acrophobia. Now there’s a new stair with railings, ugly but practical. That’s all about conservation. Sadly, the remains of the building are left to demolish. It’s interesting to observe the ruins of the small room over the stair that leads to the church. It’s so small! Everything is too small for modern standards. The door, the windows, the fireplace. Those who lived in this must have been very lean and agile. The byzantine church inside the monastery is a small and beautiful piece of architecture.
Back to the path towards the new Philosophou monastery. After some minutes of walk we pass the entrance of the monastery. It’s well preserved, interesting buildings and nice view over the gorge. There’s a liturgy going on in the church. Calliope and Renatte went inside to join the other people in the church.
On our way back walking on the path through the gorge we are feeling hungry. All this walking in nature had its effect.
Time for a picnic under the shadow of the plane trees sitting next to the river. Two huge greek salads with plenty of olive oil, feta cheese and barley rusks replenish our energy stores. A dive in the rivers’ cold waters has been refreshing afterwards. The ARCADIA experience!
Hello!
It looks beautiful there!
I was wondering what the distance is between Podromou and Philosophou monasteries. How long does it take to walk between them, roughly?
We’d like to see them on our way to Olympia from Tripoli but we don’t know if we’ll have time… We’d park our car near Podromou then walk to the monasteries and then back to the car…
Any information would be really helpful!
Kind regards,
Natalia
Hi Natalia,
It takes about 40 minutes to walk from Prodromou to Philosophou monastery. It’s a relatively easy path that goes downhill to the river and uphill to the monasteries. You’ll spend some time visiting the old Philosophou monastery which is mostly ruins but still visually interesting. Another 10 minutes walk for the new Philosophou monastery.
If you also want to visit ancient Olympia and the museum you’ll need plenty of time for this too. You’d better skip visiting the Philosophou monasteries and just visit the Prodromou monastery.
My favorite route from Tripoli to Lousios gorge is the road passing by the Hospital in Tripoli, going through Menalon mountain to Chrysovitsi and Stemnitsa. Right after Stemnitsa there is the sign for the narrow road that goes down to Lousios river and Prodromou monastery.
After Stemnitsa there is Dimitsana and then Laggadia. All very interesting villages with typical Arcadian architecture and built on equally impressive landscape. Perfect places for a coffee break. Also give a try to the local pastries and food.
Have a nice time!
Thank you so much for your advice and detailed response! That’s been so helpful! Best wishes!
Thanks to you, we found the monasteries and had a lovely day. Thank you so much!
Glad that you enjoyed your visit. Best regards!
Hello! thank you for all the information. Where did you start your walk and how long did it take to reach Prodromou? Many thanks! Gilat
Hi Gilat,
We started from Ancient Gortys right at the end of the asphalt road. You can park your car there and walk over the bridge then turn right for the path which is signed and easy to find, goes up the Lousios river.
The walk until Prodromou is about half an hour, but you’d allow more time for enjoying the fantastic scenery of the gorge.
If you just want to reach Prodromou, you can drive there, the road goes very close and you only need a 5 minutes walk to reach the monastery.
Have a good time!
This is very helpful, thank you. We’re driving from Athens to Mystras then to Prodromou and Olympia, any recommendations for routes, sights etc.? Thank you in advance!
Hi Gracia,
Driving from Athens to Mystras you could visit the ancient Corinth and ancient Nemea (amazing gold jewelry collection and well preserved stadium)
Mystras to Prodromou, you can follow the new road Sparti > Megalopoli (ancient theater and interesting city ruins with the power plant as background) > Elliniko > Prodromou.
Karytena, Stemnitsa, Dimitsana, Laggadia, are picturesque traditional towns worth exploring, but all this is too much for one day.
Have a nice time!
Just walked it today … your photos are fabulous … I’m envious!
Hello, we decided to go to lousios gorge tomorrow over night. Currently we are 15 km north of Kalamata. We have a hire car. We don’t want to walk more than 4 hours in total tomorrow. We definitely want to see prodromou monastery & philosophou monastery. Which village can we stay? Can we do an around walk within 4 hours or do we need to catch a cab to return to our car? Please help.
Hi Miko,
You can drive through Megalopoli to Elliniko village, then to the parking of Prodromou monastery and leave your car there. Follow the path to Philosophou and then back to Prodromou. The walk back and forth is about two hours but you’ll need more time to visit the monasteries and enjoy the scenery. You can stay at Dimitsana or Stemnitsa.
Have a nice day!
Hello,
Is it possible to do one day tour ,from Kato Trika-Vytina-Pirgaki-Elati-Stemnitsa-Prodromou-Dmitsana and back to Kato Trikala?
How may houers it can take?
Is Prodromou closed at noon?
Thank you for any information
Hello,
I really want to do this hike with the kids who enjoy hiking too. We want to do this Jan 1. A few questions for you, please:
1. Chance of snow?
2. Monasteries will be closed?
3. Where is it best to park the car (we will need to return to the car, not taking a cab back)?
4. How long should we plan for? (We have the day pretty much as this will be our activity from leaving our hotel in Mystras to getting to our next hotel in Napflion.
Thank you so much!
Hello,
1. The monasteries are about 400m altitude so there is minimal chance of snow.
2. Monasteries are open for a few hours daily. Here are their phone numbers: 2795081447 – 2795081385.
3. First option is to park your car near the small bridge at Ancient Gortys. Second option is to park your car higher, at the end of the asphalt road near Prodromou monastery.
4. If you park your car near Ancient Gortys, at the other side of the bridge you’ll find the ancient ruins and the path leading towards the gorge and the monasteries. You’ll probably need about 5 hours to visit all three monasteries (Prodromou, old Philosophou, new Philosophou) and get back to your car.
If you park your car near Prodromou monastery, it’s about 20 minutes of walk until the monastery and about an hour more to reach Philosophou monasteries. So by getting back to your car, this walk would be about 3 hours.
Last but not least, the old Philosophou monastery is a ruin that extends along the cliff. Lousios is a rushing river, avoid approaching its banks. Your kids must be disciplined and conscious of the actual risks involved.
Have a nice hike!
HI,
Thanks for all the gread info.
Just to verify I am not mistaken.
To return to the car, one has to go back following the same route, right?
It’s not a circular path in any way.