“high above Kalamata”

Ano Verga – Profit Ilias – Ano Verga

Timings

• 4.5 hours in total (10km) 400m climb to summit of Profit Ilias at 1316m
• Ano Verga to the forest: 1 hr
• The forest to Profitas Ilias: 1 hr
• Profitas Ilias to Ano Verga: 2.5 hrs
• map of walk

Nature of walk

Stunning views throughout the walk. Views both to the mountains and down to the coast and Kalamata. The remoteness gives a real feeling of being off the beaten track and the beauty of the forest is an added bonus. Rocky path up from Ano Verga, then steep track through pine forest to rough dirt road for final 1km to Profit Ilias. Rough dirt road from Profit Ilias to Ano Verga. A rocky climb through old field systems above Ano Verga. Then a steep climb through pine forest to a ridge where a dirt road takes you to the summit of Profit Ilias at 1316m. The return to Ano Verga is via a dirt road.

 

To drive to Ano Verga you need to turn off the main Kalamata / Areopolis road at the turning for Sotirianika (about 10km south of Kalamata & 30km north of Stoupa). Follow the road into Sotirianika, turn left in the middle of the village and climb zigzags, past a turning left for Haravghi, until a 2nd left turn (3km from Sotirianika), signed for Ano Verga. Note that the road signs here are hand painted and regularly fall from their posts!).

When you reach the first houses of Ano Verga take the lower (left) fork in the road and park where the width of the road allows. The walk starts where a paved street heads up right from the road. There is a clear red/white paint marking on the wall. Follow the red/white markings up through the village, passing the village water fountain and finally reaching the highest houses of the village. The many ruined houses are a testament, not only to the depopulation of the rural villages, but also to the damage caused here by an earthquake in 1986.

The path continues up a rocky track, still marked red/white, reaching a hillside ridged with old terrace walls and dotted with alonia (stone-built threshing circles). A herd of goats is usually grazing here. Fabulous views down to Kalamata and the Messinian Gulf.

After 1 hour from the village you will enter pine forest and the path divides. A red/white painted arrow shows the way up to the right.

A 40 minute climb through the forest brings you to a dirt road. Turn right and follow the road for 1km to the chapel of the Profit Ilias. From the road you can admire the peaks of the Taygetus mountain range, running north/south, to your left.

The chapel marks the high point at 1316m. It is not of great age or interest, but if you walk across the meadow to the left (south) you will reach the cliff edge, where the coastline of the Messinian Gulf is a 1300m drop directly below you and the view down to the Mani peninsula stretches away to the south.

To return to Ano Verga, retrace your route along the dirt road, continuing past where you turned onto it on the way up. The road will take you north through seemingly disused farmsteads with ruined buildings and terraced fields. Interestingly two stone built water cisterns remain in good condition, with buckets and troughs alongside, carved from whole pine tree trunks. Clearly livestock is still watered here.

The road rises before turning west and zig-zaging down to reach a farm with a vineyard. From here the road heads south, following the contour of the cliffs 900m above the coast at Verga, just outside Kalamata.

To the right of the road you pass the church of Agios Dimitrios with its glazed sun terrace. The door is always open and it provides welcome shelter on a windy day. From here paragliders take off to land in the water off the city beaches of Kalamata.

Finally the dirt road will bring you back into Ano Verga at the point where the walk started.