Βαλιμή-Περιστέρα (Εξοχής-Βελλάς)周辺のおすすめファミリーハイキング＆ウォーキング

修道院は毎日訪問者のために開かれており、通常は昼休みがあります。 営業時間 月 - 火 08:30-13:00 & 14:00-17:30 水 - 金 08:30-13:00 & 14:00-17:30 土 - 日 08:00-13:00 & 14:00-17:30 適切な服装でお越しください。

メガスピライオ修道院（ギリシャ語で「大洞窟」の意味）は、ギリシャ最古の修道院の一つとされ、ペロポネソス半島における重要な宗教的中心地です。カラヴリタの北東約10キロに位置し、切り立った岩壁の中に壮大に建てられています。 言い伝えによると、この修道院は西暦362年にシメオンとテオドロス兄弟によって設立されました。彼らは、以前に羊飼いのエウフロシネという女性が洞窟で発見した聖なるイコンを探していました。 修道院の中心は、福音記者ルカに帰属される聖母マリアの有名なイコン、パナギア・メガスピリオティッサ（神の母）です。これはワックスとマスチックでできており、数回の火災によって色が濃くなっています。 その歴史の中で 修道院は、火災（1640年と1934年を含む）によって何度も破壊され、再建されました。現在の外観は近代的ですが、内部には貴重な歴史的宝物が保存されています。

Right by the train station are traditional tavernas, such as the famous "Romance Tavern," which has often served as a backdrop for Greek films. The station is a popular starting point for hikes through the gorge along the railway tracks, especially to Diakopto (approx. 12 km, 3.5-4 hours). Another trail leads up to the Mega Spileo Monastery, founded in the 4th century and built directly into a cliff face. The area is characterized by dense forests of plane trees, chestnut trees, and pines, as well as numerous waterfalls in the gorge.

Zachlorou Station (also known as Mega Spileo) is a prominent station on the historic Diakopto-Kalavryta Railway. It is located in the picturesque village of Kato Zachlorou, nestled within the impressive Vouraikos Gorge. The station primarily serves as access to the famous Mega Spileo Monastery (Great Cave), which can be reached via a 45- to 60-minute hike. The station is part of the 750 mm narrow-gauge rack railway ("Odontotos"), which opened in 1896 and is considered one of the most spectacular railway lines in the Balkans.

Simultaneously on December 8, executions were also carried out in the village of Kerpini, and the historic Mega Spilaio Monastery was destroyed, resulting in the murder of numerous monks and civilians. These events marked the beginning of the Kalavryta Massacre on December 13, 1943, in which almost the entire male population of the town of Kalavryta was murdered. Today, memorial stones like these can be found in many places in the region around Kalavryta, in the forest or along roadsides, often precisely where the shootings took place or where the victims were buried. They serve as memorials to the so-called "martyr villages" of Greece.

The memorial stone commemorates victims of the Second World War. The Greek inscription on the marble plaque translates as: "In memory of those who fell at the hands of the Germans on December 8, 1943." The date refers to the events during "Operation Kalavryta," a large-scale reprisal action by the German Wehrmacht in December 1943. On December 8, 1943, German occupation forces destroyed the village of Rogoi (near Kalavryta). Sixty-six men and boys were executed.

An old natural stone arched bridge, which blends in with the surrounding nature in a fairytale-like way.

Cogwheel section on the Kalafryta - Diakopto line in the Vouraikos Gorge