Travelling within the Peloponnese Itinerary II
(see Greece train map)
Corinth-Kalamata & Corinth-Argos-Nafplio-Tripoli-Kalamata
A General Picture
This entire route covers 235km/145.7miles of railway, which could be said to include the most significant archaeological sites in all of Greece. Along this line are Nemea, Mycenae, Argos, Tiryns, Nafplio, and Lerna.
Some of the best mountain rail lines in all Europe are to be found in the circumnavigation of Mount Tegea up to the high inland plain of Arcadia at Tripoli. The seven daily trains are semi-expresses, despite the designation in the timetables, three going as far as Nafplio; the other four on to Kalamata, though all of them serve Mycenae and Argos. Tripolis is the major junction for the scattered villages of the mid-Peloponnese, and for bus connections for east west travel; Kalamata, the terminal point, is the gateway to the southern prongs of the Peloponnese, with Sparta-Mystra-Monemvasia to the east; the Mani in the center; and Pylos/Navarino Bay, Methoni, and Koroni in the west, all of them within the prefectures of Messenia and Lakonia. From the port of Kalamata, one can also access the islands of Kythira (the southern most of the Eptanisa, or Ionian islands, which is at some distance from the others to the south, as well as Crete (Kriti), and Githion.
All of the trains on this route run in combination with trains coming from Piraeus and Athens to both Patras and Kalamata or Nafplio, splitting at Corinth, with one branch continuing west to Patras and the other south to Nafplio or Kalamata.
It is recommended that you make reservations for the southbound trains and find out where to board your next train, since being on the wrong train results in a stressful change at Corinth.
Corinth to Nemea This line climbs and winds through a densely wooded valley between Mt. Skiona (700meters) and the Oneia Hills (563meters). Along the way you'll pass the Athikia Station (unmanned) which serves the village of the same name, and where a road goes to the Pass of Agionori with a Venetian castle. The next station is Aghios Vasilios (26km), above which are ruins of a medieval castle and a Bronze age settlement was found in 1921-2 to the east. The country gets more wild after this point; the Nemea-Dervenaki station (31km) is next, the railway crossed here by the old Corinth-Argos road, used by only two buses a day (Argos-Nemea).
The road to modern Nemea (5km) continues uphill from the station, while the road to Dervenakia, is is further along the Argos road after the railway crossing. From this isolated railway station, if you want to get to those towns at an hour outside of the bus schedule, hitching, or the occasional passing taxi are your only options. There's a wine co-operative in Nemea, with wine-tasting. (See Nemea for details about this town and the sanctuary of ancient Nemea). The modern town is 5km/3.1miles from the site, along the same road. You can use to same buses bound for Argos to return to the rail station of Nemea-Dervenakia. Other buses (or a rented car from Nemea) will get you to the Stymphalean Lake, which, according to myth, was the nesting ground of man-eating birds that Iraklis(Hercules) had to quell as one of his Labors. This area can be reached also by local bus from Kiato (on the Patras rail line).
Nemea to Mycenae
The train moves on through a narrow canyon between the twin peaks of Mt. Tretos, whose ancient Pass of Dervenakia, saw the ambush of Dramali's Turkish army in the summer of 1822 by the Greek revolutionary leader Kolokotronis, with 4000 Turks killed, and the rest fleeing to Corinth to be evacuated by sea. This early victory during the Greek War of Independence served as strong encouragment to continue the struggle, which lasted another decade. Descending from the Pass the Argolid valley spreads out below and the line soon reaches Mycenae. After crossing the Panitsa and Xerias rivers and stopping at the village station of Koudsopodi where the highway again crosses the railway, the fortress on the hill of Larissa (276meters) comes into view before the train reaches Argos, which, apart from its other many historic and archaeological distinctions, is also a rail junction, with a line to Nafplio. Modern Argos is a town of around 25,000 inhabitants, which is mainly an agricultural center catering to farmers and fruit growers, with a wonderful weekly Wednesday market-one of the best in Greece. About 2km on the road to Pirgelas (which crosses the rail line just north of the station's northern perimeter wall) the wine cellars of Yiorgos Skouras are well worth a visit, with the tasting rooms open 8am to 2:30pm on Mon-Sat. There are plenty of hotels and rooms in Argos, though Nafplio is more attractive.
Argos-Nafplio
Trains for Naufplio leave the main line just south of the station, the train now heading towards the Argolic Gulf, and passing a small station for Tiryns, whose site can be visited from Nafplio just 4km onward. The modern rail station of Nafplio is on the harbor near the passenger ship quays, and consists of two old red passenger cars which have been renovated and are now used as ticket office and waiting room (air-conditioned). The older station, with antique railway cars and steam locomotives is now a café. There are three through trains daily to Athens as well as two daily shuttles connecting at Argos. Connections from here are geared mainly to Athens, with not such good ones to Patras, which requires changing trains in Corinth, sometimes involving a 1 ˝ hour wait for the connection (though you might check to see if this has changed recently). There are hourly bus connections from Nafplio to the beach resorts of Tolo, and less frequent buses to the less crowded Kastraki, which has remains of the ancient wall of Assine. Further along the same road are the villages of Drepano and Iria, and 35km to the east is Epidavros (see Epidavros article).
Nafplio / Argos to Mili
The Argolid famous for its flat, fertile agricultural land, which is seen immediately upon leaving the Argos station and heading south towards Mili. The area was a marsh until the mid 20th century, with snakes featuring largely in the local legends. The rail line follows the west end of the ArgolicGulf, and reaches a large wooded area and the old brick buildings of the Mili train yard, which should be on the itinerary of all old train buffs, who will find there over a dozen steam locomotives, some of them past the point of no return, others restorable. Their continued existence is due to the fact that at the point of their retirement, the SPAP Railway Company couldn't afford to scrap them for junk metal, and later OSE authorities realized that they could be rebuilt and used as excursion trains. The locomotives stored at Mili were built between 1914 and 1952 (of the two classes known as 140 and 141). The ancient ruins of Lerna at Mili are located under the modern village, about 500 meters from the rail station, and can be seen from the train-a high mound amidst plane trees , which can be seen after crossing the road from Nafplio (on the right side).
On the coast road near Mili are some beach towns, including Astros and Aghios Andreas (which are low lying) and the higher, more scenic villages of Paralia Tiriou and Plaka. Leonidhi, which is inland, is the terminus of a major Argos bus route and the starting point for a very picturesque road that leads through the only pass in the Mt Parnon range. This road climbs past the Elonis monastery to the high mountain village of Kosmas and ends in the Byzantine center of Yeraki. Plaka , the port of Leonidhi, 4km distant from it, is a good resting point on the road trip to Monemvasia. The other, inland road from Mili, passes many isolated mountain villages, and is a wide, paved road that was carved into the edge of the mountain.
Heading west to Tripoli from Mili, the railway continues past villages through the red gorge of Kiveri and then opens out into the valley of Akhladhokambos ( which means 'plain of pear trees), and the next hour is rugged high mountain country leading to the province/prefecture of Arkadia. On the high slopes of Mt. Parthenion (1215 meters), are cement and concrete aqueducts . Akladhokambos is named for the wild pear tree that grew here, and the village of the same name (population around 1000) is dug into the side of the mountain 300meters up from the rail station in the valley.
After here, the rail line begins climbing into the Arkadhian Alps, and the steepness of the climb is manifested in more engine noise. At 735 meters /2410feet, the train crosses the highest railway bridge in Greece, at the Syrtis curve. The five-span bridge is 69meters/226feet high, 250meters/820feet long. It was originally a stone bridge with five arches, completed in 1891, and was acclaimed at the time as the largest public works project in the new Greek nation (this before the completion of the Corinth Canal). The modern bridge was built in 1973-74 to replace the stone bridge, which was destroyed in 1944 by the retreating Nazis. During the 30-year interim, a system of switchback trains was required to deal with the lack of a bridge, and some 500 wagons of all sorts are still there (though the locomotives have been moved to lower ground).
Beyond the bridge, the Akhladhokambos appears on the left side of the train, which passes slowly over the last four viaducts, climbing steadily, with views finally of the Argolic Gulf. The train then passes through the very isolated villages of Eleohori, Partheni, and Steno, the latter on the high Plain of Tripoli where Early Bronze Age metal working kilns were found. Tegea (see article) was near here. This area marks the entry into the Arkadia of legend and myth, regarded by the ancients as the home of Pelasgos, the earliest man. The Greek word 'pelagos' means 'open sea' and the earliest inhabitants of what is now Greece have been called 'Pelasgians' or 'Sea Peoples' (a kind of catch-all due to the fact that noone seems to know where the first people that occupied ancient Greece really came from, though many suspect Anatolia as their place of origin.
Tripoli is a pleasant city, with a population of around 30,000, with small parks and outdoor cafes, though many find it uninteresting. See Tripoli for more details about this city. There are many buses from here to ancient Tegea, and to other sites in eastern Arkadhia, as well as to the villages of the Mantinia region to the west., and to Demitsana and Andritsena. There are also buses to the southern Peloponnese.
Tripolis to Leftron
There are four daily trains to the south, which has beautiful scenery, with small valleys, and narrow river gorges with boulders, and dramatic mountains. Multi-arched stone railway bridges are also beautiful features of this area, dating from the late 19th century. It is recommended that you not take the express if you want a quiet ride, as the condition of the railway leaves something to be desired, and can be very bumpy on the fast train. The first stop is the station at Makri, near which are the remains of Pallantion, supposedly the mother city of Rome, which gave way in importance to Megalopolis. The railway after Makri climbs the Pass of Kaloyerikos ('kaloyeros' meaning 'monk') at 810meters, and passing over several stone bridges, and on to the plain of Assea. The railway line runs on a terrace just above the pass, and is the highest point on the Greek railways (817meters).
Straight ahead is the mountain range of Taigetos, sacred to the twins Apollo and Artemis, and which takes up the greater part of the middle prong of the Peloponnese, dividing Lakonia from Messenia. This range offers great trekking possibilities. The rail line heads west around 2400 meter Profitis Ilias (Prophet Elijah). The Assea station is a few kilometers from the village, near the headwaters of the River Alpheos. The ancient acropolis of Assea is on an isolated hill about 150meters northeast of the station, the city continually inhabited from the Bronze Age to the Mycenaean era, and then reoccupied during Hellenistic times. Helper locomotives used to help trains over the mountain during recent times, with a large stone water tower left as a reminder of those days. Between Assea and the Leftron junction for Megalopoli the railway passes through Rutsi and through truly lovely countryside with tunnels, and stone viaducts along the way. For details about Megalopoli, see the article on this city.
Leftron to Kalamata
South of the Leftron junction the line circumnavigates the Taigetos mountains, passing through many tunnels and the route is quite sinuous. It is sad to see neglected stone stations during this stretch in the isolated villages of Xrani, Issari, and Desylla, which manifest the abandonment of villages as people move to the cities (a trend that has been going on for a long time all over Greece, and especially since the disastrous years of World War II and the subsequent Greek Civil War (1946-49). Olive orchards precede the stops at the larger villages of Diavolitsi and Kentriko, followed by Zevgolatio station and the province/prefecture of Messinia. Zevgolatio is at the upper end of the Messenian plain and is the junction for Kyparissia, Pyrgos, and Patras on the western coast of the Peloponnese. There is a café next to the station. The route continues down the fertile, cultivated plain, with a stop in the market town of Meligala ('honey-milk', literally) which has an enormous clock tower (which is visible from the train). This area was ancient Steniklaros, which was royal headquarters for a Dorian city, though its remains have not been found. The remains of Messene are just past Meligala (See ancient Messene article), followed by Valyri, Plati, Aris, and Thouria, the Asprokhroma station, and the rail junction for the modern town of Messenia (which may or may not have reopened). If open, however, it passes in front of the Kalamata Airport. The end of the line is the attractive Kalamata rail station. See Kalamata article for details on this city.
Trains from Kalamata include two a day to Kyparissia, seven from Kyparissia to Pyrgos, which go on to Patras; four to Tripoli (and on to Argos and Corinth). Both routes end up in Athens (if that's where you want to go). Kalamata is a good base for exploring the southern Peloponnese via bus and car rental, but if you want to explore the Mani , a better base from which to do this isYithio/Gytheio, which also offers access to the islands of Crete (Kriti), and Kythira.