Do you know what a fjord is?

The opposite of a cape: A narrow strip of sea that enters land, creating an image that if you look at it from up close it looks like a river. Norway, let’s say, is famous for its fjord. Here in the south we don’t have that many. We have Gerakas, though. A creek so closed and so narrow that the first time you see it from up high, it looks like a fjord. And this is a rare occasion in Greece to say “We’re like Norway” and people actually believe you.

For such a unique, for the Greek standards, geological phenomenon it makes no sense that Gerakas of Laconia is not part of the popular destinations of Peloponnese. Perhaps, this is for the best: The joy of discovery, that feeling that you see something unique that is all yours, makes the landscape even more appealing to your eyes.

So, Gerakas is located 24 kilometers away from Monemvasia and you can’t get here “by accident”. To get here, you have to start your way to come. As you will be driving down the road to its harbor, you will know right away that it worth the visit.

The coastal route, before you reach the center of the settlement, first looks like it is moving along a big lake and then along a river- but it is neither. It is a sea, an actual sea, as you would already know from looking at its amazing vastness from up high. Until finally the road ends up (literally ends up, there is no other place to go from here) in a sheltered harbor, filled with stone, whitewashed houses with blue windows and red tiled roofs, a couple of ouzeri taverns that spread their tables by the sea, a concrete pier to go diving like when we were kids, and some boats… not swaying, since the waters here are almost still.

Trips and sights around Gerakas

Apart from Monemvasia, which is the obvious answer to the question “and what else can I do here?” , Gerakas is a lovely base to start exploring the “third foot of Peloponnese” and make a stop before you follow the road down to get to the famous and most-loved Elafonisos in secret places, like Kastanias Cave, the totally adorable island villages of Vatika, the lighthouse of Cavo Maleas and the most ancient sunken city of our little planet, in Pavlopetri.  We have more details for all these here   3 days at the last "foot" of the Peloponnese