Mountain Drive: Tripolis to Olympia
Oct 10th, 2004, 03:51 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 112
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mountain Drive: Tripolis to Olympia
Tom H has suggested driving from the Tripolis area to Olympia through the mountains to Olympia (through villages of Stemnitsa, Dimitsana, etc.)
Has anyone done this, and can anyone suggest a specific route or routes? I love the idea of a day off the main tourist routes to see some real villages and towns.
Thanks for any info.
Rick in Maryland
Has anyone done this, and can anyone suggest a specific route or routes? I love the idea of a day off the main tourist routes to see some real villages and towns.
Thanks for any info.
Rick in Maryland
Oct 11th, 2004, 12:55 PM
#2
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Driving through the mountains of central Peloponnese you will find some very picturesque villages and landscapes, not the type of nature one expects to find in Greece . One of the best villages in the area is Langadia, right on the main road from Olympia to Tripoli . Also, a great route is Dimitsana-Stemnitsa-Hrisovitsi-Elati-Vitina (find it in a good map) , trust me, you will get excited from the architecture, the forests and the canyons you will find there...
Oct 11th, 2004, 01:14 PM
#3
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
... And if you have enough time, visit Karitena, 20kms south of Stemnitsa, known as the 'Toledo of Greece' . Well, ok, its only a beautiful village, not something that great as Toledo, but it resembles it in a way . And 30kms east of Karitena, is a very well-preserved ancient temple, dedicated to Apollo, in an area called Vasses, close to the town of Andritsena . The temple is awesome, not like the ruins you'll meet in Olympia, and plus it's built on a high slope . Enjoy .
Oct 14th, 2004, 10:02 PM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 392
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Rick!
A good road map for general planning of your driving route is the Michelin #980 map. Amazon.com, or a good bookstore, will usually have the #980 for around $10. The map's scale is 1:700,000, ie 1cm = 7km, or about 1 inch = 11 miles.
The greek car rental companies may also have good overall maps.
I found my car rental agency's map to be a bit too "busy" & cluttered for overall planning, but it had more detail for the smaller regional roads.
Note, the Michelin map (and some guidebooks) still refer to "Stemnitsa" village as "Ipsounda" village. This was very disorienting until I figured it out!
On the outskirts of Langadia village I remember a retired old gentleman living in a modest, 2-room stone house by the side of the road. He'd sit outside, waving to the passing tourists. He was a wood carver of sorts, and of course liked to invite tourists in to his woodshop where'd he'd have all sorts of woooden bowls, carvings, etc, for sale, to supplement his income. A hand carved, wooden spoon I bought for just a few dollars, hangs in my kitchen and still evokes memories of the Woodcarver and my trip. He was also quite a collector of, and proud of, the 100s (or 1000s ?) of postcards on his walls, that he later received from the tourists after they'd returned to their home country. I hope he's still there
A good road map for general planning of your driving route is the Michelin #980 map. Amazon.com, or a good bookstore, will usually have the #980 for around $10. The map's scale is 1:700,000, ie 1cm = 7km, or about 1 inch = 11 miles.
The greek car rental companies may also have good overall maps.
I found my car rental agency's map to be a bit too "busy" & cluttered for overall planning, but it had more detail for the smaller regional roads.
Note, the Michelin map (and some guidebooks) still refer to "Stemnitsa" village as "Ipsounda" village. This was very disorienting until I figured it out!
On the outskirts of Langadia village I remember a retired old gentleman living in a modest, 2-room stone house by the side of the road. He'd sit outside, waving to the passing tourists. He was a wood carver of sorts, and of course liked to invite tourists in to his woodshop where'd he'd have all sorts of woooden bowls, carvings, etc, for sale, to supplement his income. A hand carved, wooden spoon I bought for just a few dollars, hangs in my kitchen and still evokes memories of the Woodcarver and my trip. He was also quite a collector of, and proud of, the 100s (or 1000s ?) of postcards on his walls, that he later received from the tourists after they'd returned to their home country. I hope he's still there
Oct 15th, 2004, 08:00 AM
#6
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 392
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
In 2001, NY Times had a travel article on this central Arcadia region, "Down Lousios Gorge To Old Arcadia".
Here's the (long) URL:
http://travel2.nytimes.com/mem/trave...5BC0A9679C8B63
Here's the (long) URL:
http://travel2.nytimes.com/mem/trave...5BC0A9679C8B63
