Patra - mountain railway - Mega Spileo Monastery - Lutraki

The most interesting local entertainment is the historical railway from Diakopto village to Kalavrita in the mountains. The train runs through mountains of incredible beauty, in some places on the edge of the abyss. From the windows you can see picturesque gorges and cliffs, mountain streams and waterfalls. The height reaches 750 m above sea level. The train is called odondotO because it clings to the teeth on the rails to overcome steep slopes. Since you travel by car, you can take a train ride in this way: Option 1 All of you take the first train to Diakopto together, it is currently at 09.05 am. In about an hour you will be in the picturesque mountainous Calavrita. About 2 hours to explore the city and at 12.40 you go back to Diakopto. Plus, you'll see the mountain beauties together, minus not going to the Mega Spileo monastery. You can read somewhere that there is a train stop near the monastery, at the station Zahlooru, but in reality it takes about an hour one way to get to the monastery. Option 2 Passengers take the train to Kalavrita and enjoy the views from the train, while the driver takes the car to Kalavrita. In Calavrita, you meet, walk, and drive back together with the monastery stop. Option 3 No one rides the train, and you drive all the way to and from the monastery together. Make sure you check the schedule on the website Odondotos. The price of the ticket is about € 10 one way.

If you don't take the train, you can get to the monastery Mega Spileo (or Great Cave) by 10 am. It was founded in the 4th century and is the second oldest operating Christian monastery in the world (after the Monastery of St. Catherine on the Sinai Peninsula). The monastery houses a unique wax icon of the Virgin Mary by the Evangelist Luke, who miraculously survived several fires. In addition, the relics of many saints are collected here, and if you are lucky you can enter the vault. In the monastery museum you can see a small but very rich collection of books, icons and church utensils. In the monastery shop nearby you can buy its products: honey, jams, wine, herbs and stunningly delicious walnut turquoise.