Leonidio and Kyparissi Trip, November 17
Leonidio. A lovely small town in the beautiful Peloponnese, surrounded by lush green hills and deep red rock, all a few hours easy driving from Athens. We stayed in the excellent Hotel Hatsipanayotis in the upper centre of town, right on the main street. A great place with really good staff, I'd happily stay there again next time.
The town is small, with a dry river splitting it roughly in half and a good sized parking area to keep the car clutter on the main street to a minimum. A couple of places to eat in the evening and several smaller coffee bars and tavernas make for a very pretty and peaceful town. We found Kaba restaurant excellent and good value, though hard to find as its disguised itself a bit like an old shed from the outside, but cool and rustic on the inside. The town feels nice, the locals are warm, friendly and very helpful and there are a few varied stores for supplies here and there along the main road. We liked it a lot. Evenings were quiet and cool, though Panjika cafe offers drinks, food and occasional live music.
The climbing above town on the massive red rocks of Kokinovrachos is well developed and fully in the sun all day. I found it too hot to climb there really, in fact our week there was generally too hot in the sun, and just a touch chilly in the shade. There are a couple of excellent hardcore shady crags, including the excellent Elona, and the less extreme Sabaton, but most of the climbing is in the sun, so full winter is probably the best time to enjoy whats on offer here. Apart from kokinivrachos, we found masses of virgin rock to be developed, the place is ripe for new routing, and needs it as the crags quickly get busy at the moment. I'm in two minds about the star rating in the Greece selected guide, people tend to cherry pick, myself included, as I headed for the musical notes along with all the other climbers there.... In fact on several crags all the climbers headed for the same routes and it felt way busier than it should have... If you want to bolt the possibilities seem endless. Check in with the guys at the Panjika cafe cooperative for info and guidance. We barely scraped the surface with a week and I see more trips here in the future.
By way of contrast we spent a few days in Kyparrissi. Here the crags are the other way around, mostly shady, with the excellent Watermill getting sun in the morning only, The crag in the town, Kastraki, at this time of year is all day shade. Babala? Way above my pay grade and I didn't go there, though it looks excellent from Playground crag, only morning sun again here. I climbed a great sunny roadside route at Psilovrachos, and enjoyed the view from Stavros, down to the mysterious and atmospheric Jerome's House, though I didn't climb here. The feeling is weird and wonderful, what a strange place. We did our own little research about the house and the story surrounding it. It added a whole new dimension to our visit here.
The drive down to Kyp was horrible. The bendiest, twistiest road I've ever been on. I never want to do it again. When we left we took the top road, and what a joy it was, beautiful, scenic, good roads, the views were stunning and the journey faster and way easier than the new coast road. Why they built this I do not know. Awful.
Kyparissi was, as expected, super quiet. We stayed at Myrtoo, which were fine rooms and we had a lovely see view. One restaurant, one big-ish market open, plus one smaller one, and one old style taverna near where we were. A reasonable selection of places to stay, and maybe there was more on the other side of the village, not sure. The beach was lovely and the village really picturesque, hugged in tightly by high hills and crags, including Babala. I'd love to come again when its warmer, enjoy the swimming and the climbing too. I'm sure its possible to spend a really nice week here in the summer. However, I really doubt I'll come back again, just not enough happening here, its maybe a little too quiet.
For the record it rained. My mates in Leo said it was raining at the same time as it was in Kyp. In the rain in Kyp there's not much to do, and no easy short escape really. From a rainy Leo there's always Napflio or the crags closer to Athens to try if you're desperate or the forecast stays bad. Depends how far you're prepared to drive.
Of the two there is no doubt that Leonidio is the star with the brightest long term future. I have a gut feeling that Kyparissi will become something of a forgotten gem sadly. Leonidio, if its managed right, could have some wonderful crags and brilliant routes to add to the ones it already has. You don't have a beach to play on, but really, when the climbing is at its best, over winter, say late November through to March/April, you don't really want a swim. You do need a car though, there's not a lot of choice for walking distance crags.
Both beautiful places with their own particular charms in a surprisingly gorgeous part of the world. It's a stunningly beautiful place to be. With its untapped potential, I hope that Leonidio doesn't get spoiled and keeps itself just as it is now.
Elona Monastary
Elona and Themi
The road to Hot Rock
Not a bolt in sight.
Leonidio and Kokinovrachos
The coast road.
Close to Jerome's house.
Kyparissi below the path from Playground.
The Beach.
Beautiful.
Leonidio from the top road.
The excellent Hotel Hatsipanayotis. View to the crag.....
..View to the main road.
The town is small, with a dry river splitting it roughly in half and a good sized parking area to keep the car clutter on the main street to a minimum. A couple of places to eat in the evening and several smaller coffee bars and tavernas make for a very pretty and peaceful town. We found Kaba restaurant excellent and good value, though hard to find as its disguised itself a bit like an old shed from the outside, but cool and rustic on the inside. The town feels nice, the locals are warm, friendly and very helpful and there are a few varied stores for supplies here and there along the main road. We liked it a lot. Evenings were quiet and cool, though Panjika cafe offers drinks, food and occasional live music.
The climbing above town on the massive red rocks of Kokinovrachos is well developed and fully in the sun all day. I found it too hot to climb there really, in fact our week there was generally too hot in the sun, and just a touch chilly in the shade. There are a couple of excellent hardcore shady crags, including the excellent Elona, and the less extreme Sabaton, but most of the climbing is in the sun, so full winter is probably the best time to enjoy whats on offer here. Apart from kokinivrachos, we found masses of virgin rock to be developed, the place is ripe for new routing, and needs it as the crags quickly get busy at the moment. I'm in two minds about the star rating in the Greece selected guide, people tend to cherry pick, myself included, as I headed for the musical notes along with all the other climbers there.... In fact on several crags all the climbers headed for the same routes and it felt way busier than it should have... If you want to bolt the possibilities seem endless. Check in with the guys at the Panjika cafe cooperative for info and guidance. We barely scraped the surface with a week and I see more trips here in the future.
By way of contrast we spent a few days in Kyparrissi. Here the crags are the other way around, mostly shady, with the excellent Watermill getting sun in the morning only, The crag in the town, Kastraki, at this time of year is all day shade. Babala? Way above my pay grade and I didn't go there, though it looks excellent from Playground crag, only morning sun again here. I climbed a great sunny roadside route at Psilovrachos, and enjoyed the view from Stavros, down to the mysterious and atmospheric Jerome's House, though I didn't climb here. The feeling is weird and wonderful, what a strange place. We did our own little research about the house and the story surrounding it. It added a whole new dimension to our visit here.
The drive down to Kyp was horrible. The bendiest, twistiest road I've ever been on. I never want to do it again. When we left we took the top road, and what a joy it was, beautiful, scenic, good roads, the views were stunning and the journey faster and way easier than the new coast road. Why they built this I do not know. Awful.
Kyparissi was, as expected, super quiet. We stayed at Myrtoo, which were fine rooms and we had a lovely see view. One restaurant, one big-ish market open, plus one smaller one, and one old style taverna near where we were. A reasonable selection of places to stay, and maybe there was more on the other side of the village, not sure. The beach was lovely and the village really picturesque, hugged in tightly by high hills and crags, including Babala. I'd love to come again when its warmer, enjoy the swimming and the climbing too. I'm sure its possible to spend a really nice week here in the summer. However, I really doubt I'll come back again, just not enough happening here, its maybe a little too quiet.
For the record it rained. My mates in Leo said it was raining at the same time as it was in Kyp. In the rain in Kyp there's not much to do, and no easy short escape really. From a rainy Leo there's always Napflio or the crags closer to Athens to try if you're desperate or the forecast stays bad. Depends how far you're prepared to drive.
Of the two there is no doubt that Leonidio is the star with the brightest long term future. I have a gut feeling that Kyparissi will become something of a forgotten gem sadly. Leonidio, if its managed right, could have some wonderful crags and brilliant routes to add to the ones it already has. You don't have a beach to play on, but really, when the climbing is at its best, over winter, say late November through to March/April, you don't really want a swim. You do need a car though, there's not a lot of choice for walking distance crags.
Both beautiful places with their own particular charms in a surprisingly gorgeous part of the world. It's a stunningly beautiful place to be. With its untapped potential, I hope that Leonidio doesn't get spoiled and keeps itself just as it is now.
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