Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE KALÁVRYTA EXPRESS
The 22km
rack-and-pinion railway
from
Dhiakoftó
to
Kalávryta
is a crazy feat of Italian
engineering, rising at gradients of up to one in seven as it cuts inland through the Vouraïkós
gorge. The journey can be hot, crowded and uncomfortable, but the route is a toy-train fantasy
of tunnels, bridges and precipitous overhangs and well worth experiencing.
The railway was built between 1889 and 1896 to bring minerals from the mountains to the
sea. Its 1896 steam locomotives were replaced some years ago - one (O Moutzouris) remains
by the line at Dhiakoftó station (
T
26910 43206) with other relics, and another at Kalávryta
- but the track itself retains all the charm of its period. The tunnels, for example, have delicately
carved window openings, and the narrow bridges zigzagging across the Vouraïkós seem
engineered for sheer virtuosity.
It takes around 45 minutes to get from Dhiakoftó to
Zakhloroú
(listed on timetables as
Méga Spiléo
), and about another twenty minutes from there to Kalávryta. In peak season the
ride is very popular (there are just three to six trains a day, depending on the season), so plan
to buy tickets in advance of your preferred departure (return €19; one way €9.50). Despite the
short distance covered, trains on this line can be subject to the same lengthy delays (or
cancellations) as their grown-up counterparts on the main lines.
2
valley from the monastery is for many the principal attraction - sadly the monastery itself
has been burned and rebuilt so many times it now resembles nothing so much as a 1970s
hotel - however, its treasury, arranged as a small
museum
, is outstanding. In the main
church, among its icons is a charred black wax and mastic image of the Virgin, one of
three in Greece said to be by the hand of St Luke (but probably from the tenth century);
a smaller chapel houses a remarkable collection of body parts from various saints, all
encased in precious materials. The monastery was founded by Saints Theodhoros and
Simeon, after a vision by the shepherdess Euphrosyne in 362 AD led to the discovery of
the icon in the cave (Ayíazma) behind the site of the later church.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
ZAKHLOROÚ
Romantzo
T
26920 22758,
E
hotel-romantzo
@yahoo.gr.
Traditional stone and wood, this hotel has
en-suite rooms and pretty well lives up to its name, in a
rustic sort of way. Since this is also something of
a sk
i
resort, there's a taverna here, too. Breakfast included.
€40
Kalávryta
Despite its beautiful position amid gorgeous greenery at the end of the little train line,
with Mount Helmós as a backdrop,
KALÁVRYTA
retains an air of both melancholy and
poignancy due to its tragic history during World War II. On December 13, 1943, the
town's German occupiers shot the entire male population over the age of twelve and set
fire to the town, killing around 700 in reprisal for partisan activity. By the end of the
war, the local death toll had risen to around 1200.
Greeks come here out of a sense of patriotic pilgrimage - it's crowded with school
parties during the week and with families at weekends - and the attitude to foreigners
is business-like rather than overtly friendly. Still, the town tries hard to generate a resort
feel, everything's well turned out, with lots of souvenir shops and cafés and restaurants,
and from here there's a winding scenic road of 10km north to Méga Spiléou and on to
the coast, as well as a road deep into Arcadia in the other direction.
Remembrance sights and shrines
The first and last sight you're likely to encounter is a mural, opposite the train station,
that reads: “Kalávryta, founding member of the Union of Martyred Towns, appeals to
all to fight for world peace.” The left clocktower on the central church stands fixed at
2.34pm - the hour of the massacre. In the old primary school is the
Museum of the
