THE ALISTRATI CAVE

The mere size of it is astonishing. The cave covers an area of 25 000 square meters and though only a small part is open to the public it still feels like visiting an under ground cathedral.

The locals have always known about the cave. Especially would hunters visit them because of the presence of wild pigeons.

It wasn’t until 1975 that the municipality took action and invited speleologists to explore the cave and in 1998 part of it was opened to the public.

Is it claustrophobic? That’s the question everyone asks (including me!) before visiting the cave for the first time. The answer is no!

It’s so huge and the height is between eight and 30 meters – I promise you, you won’t feel closed in.

Besides, it’s rather civilized, too. You walk on a broad, paved path (great if you have a child in pushchair with you) for about one kilometre into the ground; the deepest point is approximately 70 meters under ground. And the temperatures is comfortable, too – approximately 20 degrees Celsius whether it’s summer or winter.

Like almost every possible tourist attraction in Greece very little is actually done to attract tourists. Like getting an English speaking guide! If you´re lucky you´ll get one, otherwise you´ll get a sheet with and explanation of everything you see in English.

From Eleftheres it takes about 40 minutes to drive to the cave. You need a car to get there.

Do you want to rent a car?

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