Its name once became a synonym of haven (“et in Arcadia ego” was the name of a famous Renaissance painting) and this says a lot about the greatness of the biggest prefecture of the Peloponnese. Actually, it says it all.

Arcadia has it all: Doll-like villages hang like colorful balconies from green mountain slopes and snow covered summits. Cosmopolitan destinations fully booked for the weekends, and secret villages stopped in time. Undiscovered routes and one of the biggest and most well organized hiking routes in Greece. Secluded beaches with crystal clear waters and picturesque coastal dwellings.

Arcadia’s nature is by far the best ace on its sleeve. You can go rafting in Lousios and Alfios Rivers, go hiking in mythical gorges like Kastoras Gorge, go skiing at Mainalo Ski Resort, go climbing at Leonidio, canoeing at Ladonas River and cycling at its banks. You won’t find quietness here, unless you want it.

Then, there are its stories, which are lost in the mists of time and at the edges of the myth: Here god Panas was born, here Artemis was hunting, Zeus was falling in love with the Nymphs and Fairies, here were built and prospered many big cities that today are atmospheric archaeological sites: Gortyna. Mantinea. Tegea. Lykosoura. Pausanias wrote about Lykosoura that “It is the first one that the sun sees, from it the other people have learned to build cities”.

In the prosperous lands of Arcadia are produced many famous throughout Greece products such as the Tsakonian eggplants, apples and potatoes from the plains of Tegea, honey from the covered in fir trees slopes of Mainalo, chestnuts from the forests of Parnonas, Moschofilero wine from the many times sang vineyard of Mantinea, handmade pasta and cheese from its mountainous villages.

Are you ready to discover the heart of Peloponnese? Click on the destinations and let’s go.

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  The villages of Mainalo
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  Karitena
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  Ladonas
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  Tripoli
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  Northern Parnonas
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  South Parnonas
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  Leonidio
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  Astros
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  Tyros
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  Ambeliona