Ermionida Greece
The area of Ermionida is of special natural beauty with lacework shores and beautiful inland. Nature and History are the two main characteristics of the region located on the eastern edge of Peloponnese.
Olives and pines extent from the hills to the beaches, a landscape much like an island, only 2, 5 hours from Athens and very close to Nafplio, Epidaurus and the islands of Hydra and Spetses.
Kranidi, the noble capital
The capital of Ermionida is very close to the islands of the Saronic Gulf and strongly influenced by their traditional architecture. This makes the visitors feel as if they have visited one of those islands.
The fragrant courtyards, the picturesque cobblestones, the cisterns, the fountains, arches, balconies and windmills make Kranidi a living museum of tradition residential art.
The small town is also adorned with buildings, famous for their unique architecture, which host
among others, the Municipal Library and the Town Hall, while in its Folklore Museum valuable treasures are kept.
Porto Heli, the opulent
It is considered the cosmopolitan corner of the Peloponnese with beaches with transparent waters, luxurious atmosphere resorts and villas, marinas for sailing boats, view to Spetses, great facilities and interesting nightlife.
Its name, according to a prevailing view, is a gradual linguistic change of the name “Fishermen”,
the ancient city that was located on the south-eastern side of the port. Τhe ruins of the half of the submerged city of the Fishermen are a hidden gem, like the beaches all around the area worth discovering them.
Moreover It’s the perfect place for water sports, diving, hiking and horse riding.
Hermione –An island town
Hermione is a beautiful coastal town or, in other words, an island one, like it has been characterized.
It offers ideal holidays by harmoniously combining the serenity island atmosphere with lively entertainment
It is embraced by the sea with two breathtaking marinas where you can enjoy high quality services as far as accommodation, local cuisine and entertainment are concerned.
At the eastern end of the town walking between the two ports you reach Bisti a pine cladded peninsula, where you can wander around by the walls of the ancient town, absorbing the vibes of the archaeological treasures that surround you.
Koilada
Koilada is a coastal picturesque fishing village
built near the ancient city of Massita in a fertile valley.
It is famous for its fresh fish and for the construction of wooden fishing boats, while
it is one of the three traditional shipyards left in Hermionida.
Fraghthi cave
Archaeological investigations were carried out in 1967-84 by Indiana
University
(USA)in collaboration with of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. According to them, the cave was mainly inhabited during the Upper Age
Paleolithic (40-10000 BC), the Mesolithic (9-7000 BC) and the Neolithic period (7-3000
There is also the protected by the Ramsar treaty Marsh in the area which is a main source of life for several aquatic and predatory birds.
Thermisia
10 km from Ermioni there is another beautiful coastal village called Thermisia. It owes its name to the Temple of Thermasia Demetra, ancient goddess worshiped in the area, and was built next to the sea at the point of today’s lagoon. During Middle Ages famous salt pans were located there.
At the entrance of the village and opposite the lagoon an imposing 350 m high rock dominates, on which the Castle of Thermisia was built.
Thermisia is a tourist attraction because of its sandy beaches with crystal clear waters and traditional taverns by the sea.
Fournoi
The village of Fournoi is located north of Kranidi. It has a traditional island color with narrow cobbled streets, gardens full of flowers and colorful houses, whose architecture and style is reminiscent of the seaside villages of Ermionida and the islands of the Argosaronic too.
Next to the village, a pine wooded area with running spring and drinking water, called Papoulia is also worthy visiting.
In addition, the Katafiki gorge has been designated as a special natural beauty. The canyon crossed by a torrent, with vertical walls 200 m high, is overgrown of pines, and other kind of vegetation and is ideal for hiking.
Didyma is a settlement in the center of a small and fertile plain, built at the foot of Mount Didimos.
In the era of the 2nd century BC we meet for the first time the name Didyma, its origin which is explained in two ways.
First, that it came from the mountain “Twin Mountains” whose two peaks were dedicated to the twin demigod brothers, Castor and Polydeukis and secondly that it was adopted by the twin caves just outside the village.
Outside the village of Didyma there are two geological formations in the shape of a crater, the Little and the Great Cave, also known as Dolines, with an impressive size and about the same
diameter, which were probably formed by subsidence of the soil. The Little Cave is a hollow that goes back to the surface of the ground, the depth of which is 80m.
Moreover, two small churches of Agios Georgios from the 13th century are rooted in
n the south and the Metamorphosis of the post-Byzantine period, in the north.
North-west of the Municipality is the Monastery of Avgos. The name came from Mount Avgo.
It was founded in the 11th with preserved frescoes from the 11th-14th centuries.
Heliokastro is built north of Ermioni and named after the Eleusinian vines that produced sweet wine.
In this area there was a small settlement of houses, where today the precinct is preserved , which would have served as
Acropolis, while according to the testimony of Pausanias there were the sanctuaries of Demeter and her daughter Persephone.
Today, attractions in the area are the ruins of the ancient city of Ileoi while there are ruins of thefoundations of the temples and traces of Mycenaean tombs.
