Happy New Year everyone! I thought I would start New Year’s posts with something different, a trip; for the good luck that is! 😉 Those who follow me on social networks would have seen my recent trip to Peloponnese, and more specifically Stemnitsa. I will tell you all about it today, mostly by my photos.
I went with two very dear friends, Pepi and Chrysavgi. We were looking for a three-day stay in a beautiful and quiet place to relax and get away from the stress of everyday life. And we decided to go to Stemnitsa, which is a traditional mountain village in Arkadia, in a distance of 2 ½ hour’s drive from Athens. Built in Mainalo, on the steep slope of a gorge, Stemnitsa is a village of stone-paved cobbled streets and beautiful stone houses.
The landscape was gorgeous. The mountain is beautiful in every season, I think. What impressed me was how crowded the village was from hydrangeas! Hydrangeas big and full of, worn out, flowers. I imagine the early summer how spectacular the village will be with all the gardens fully blossomed. Unique! The weather was cold and a bit rainy, and sunnny on the first and last day. In others words, perfect.
On our way there we made a stop to Dimitsana, another beautiful traditional village, to have a coffee and visit some friends of mine.
The signs of history are everywhere in this place. Both settlements were a commercial and craft center since the Ottoman domination. The region gave birth to great Greeks because of the schools that operated there centuries ago, as well as great artisans, famous throughout Greece and beyond the borders.
Μνημείο Ηρώων στην Στεμνίτσα – A Monument to the Heroes of Stemnitsa
We headed towards Stemnitsa and our hotel. Stemnitsa seemed to me a little more desolate than the last time I visited her. Only a couple of restaurants and grocery stores were open. We visited the traditional “Gerousia” (Senate) coffeehouse in Stemnitsa square twice, where we ate a delicious cheese pie and a traditional sweet of the area, which although I had read it in books with old recipes, I had never met it anywhere. These are the rovioli (or ravioli) a very tasty, syrupy sweet with a handmade phyllo stuffed with nuts, pumpkin and spices.
We decided to stay at the Trikolonion Country Hotel, in the center of Stemnitsa, a very sensible decision, since it is at a point where it allows you to walk around the whole village on foot and get it to know it. Moreover, we were impressed by the hospitality, the kindness of the staff and the warm atmosphere. The pleasant thing is that we coincided with the decision of the hotel’s management to change the menu of the restaurant by emphasizing the local, traditional cuisine. And, as you well understood, we really wanted to try it out. We ate in the hotel restaurant two nights. We shared our experience on social networks (you’ll find all our posts and stories with #3foodbloggersexploringgreece) and I have some photos here to get an idea. The first day’s menu included trahanas, toasted bread with traditional kayana and smoked pork, wild mountain greens, lagoto (pork with a walnut skordalia) with french fries, diples and semolina halva. On the second day, we enjoyed a vegetable soup, , sauted greens, wild greens pie with trahana and feta, giant beans with rustic sausage and traditional galaktoboureko. They were all delicious! What we found to be waiting for us at the breakfast buffet was delicious as well; traditional donuts aka loukoumades, pies, rice pudding, chocolate salami omelets, apple pie, etc., everything homemade.
For those who have not visited the area yet, know that you will have too many choices. Besides the endless walks in the cobblestone streets of these traditional villages, as well as in the surrounding villages, you can visit the Folk Museums of Stemnitsa and Dimitsana, the Outdoor Water Museum of Dimitsana, located on the road connecting the two villages, ancient Gortina, but also the sacred monasteries of Emialou, Prodromos and Philosophos hanging in the gorge of Lousios.
If you are an untamed spirit, you can go hiking, horseback riding and rafting (if the weather permits), but also skiing in the ski resort of Mainalo. After that you may enjoy a sauna and a jacuzzi in the spa of the Trikolonion hotel, to relax 🙂
In Kapsia, a village you will meet before Dimitsana if you come from Athens, you will find the cave with stalactites and stalagmites. I have not visited it yet, but I will definitely do it next time. It is one of the 10 best caves in Greece.
Beautiful and stone built village is also Karytaina with its Frankish castle dominating the top of the hill. Another beautiful and historic village is Lagadia, with a unique view of the gorge.
As for local products, you will find plenty of handmade pasta (noodles, lasagna, trachana, etc.), spoon sweets, vanilla honey (a famous, local pine honey which, unfortunately it’s been out of production recently) and other local honey from the mountain. I stood out at the “Arkadiko” grocery store in Stemnitsa, just opposite the Trikolonion Hotel, where you can find karydata, a local walnuts’ candy. Do not neglect to try it. In Arkadiko you will also find other homemade pastries, as well as handmade pasta, spoon sweets and honey. We also found a great variety of local products and honey at the grocery store “En Stemnitsa“, opposite the School of Goldsmiths.
Also in Stemnitsa you will find many jewelery and silversmith workshops, because of the famous Goldsmiths’ School, which operates there and has been preserved for centuries.
“See” you again soon!
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