dskimo1

I am considering hiking part of the Menalon trail starting in Ancient Gortys. My plan is to hike up to the three monasteries and then return to my car. Can I leave my luggage in the trunk/boot of my car? I am looking to do this trail in March - is that time ok for this trail? Many thanks.

dreamon

I see that you've had no answers yet so I suggest you post on the Greece travel forum on Tripadvisor. There seem to be more people familiar with the less trodden parts of Greece there. I would include the name of one of the local towns as well as the trail name in your post title.

However, I suspect that there is no definitive answer about leaving luggage in your car. I don't know about time of year either but the Menalon Trail is at some elevation so the weather could be unpredictable. Does the trail cross the river on the sections you're hiking?

Not very helpful, I know, but thought I'd respond because you hadn't had any replies yet. I will be interested to hear what answers you get as we also plan to hike the Menalon Trail but in May. We looked at weather in early May and it seems to be warm during the day but cool at night as it's in the mountains.

dskimo1

Incredibly nice response. Feel free to check back with me after our trip.

yorkshire

I would hate for you to do so and have a bad result, but I left bags in the trunk throughout the Peloponnese and would do so again (unlike in parts of Italy, where I was warned and did so with much trepidation). Check weather carefully, but otherwise it's a gorgeous walk. It was fairly quiet in late May. Stemnitsa and Dimitsana are fantastic, we stayed in Zatouna, which I liked very much but was much smaller.
There is an info office that may be of help: https://menalontrail.eu/

dreamon

yorkshire, I'm glad to hear the hike is really enjoyable. How did you manage transport for each section of the trail? We were thinking that we'd walk out and back each day - and move accommodation a little - although I have read that a taxi is available on request. We definitely don't want to walk with our luggage. Can you imagine that the height of the river might be a problem early in the year? We don't have a proper map yet (will buy in Athens I think) so don't know the route in detail yet. Did you find the trail well marked so a map not necessary? Any information would be great.

yorkshire

We just did a portion of the Lousios gorge hike--we drove down from Zatouna and parked near the Prodromou monastery. Your turn off at Stemnitsa and the road just sort of ends and we parked where others did, near a modern church. After visiting the monastery, we walked as far as the Monastery of Kalami (I think). We just took a peek and filled our water bottles and turned back. We wanted to walk more, so we went on to Gortys and soaked our feet in the frigid water and watched the butterflies--it was a beautiful day!
This pages pretty much describes what we did: https://lifejourney4two.com/spectacu...os-gorge-hike/
There are various parking opportunities. I am sure you can get info in Stemnita or Dimitsana. Trail was well marked and maintained.

dskimo1

Very helpful - thanks!