JOURNEY TO NEDAS WATERFALLS

Text and research by Nikos Aivalis, translation by Eva Trombetas

In this journey we have as our destination Nedas waterfalls, one of the most beautiful natural landscapes of the Peloponnese, but also of Greece, a destination that every nature lover should have in his future goals to visit, during the summer months, so as to enjoy the icy waters of the river.

The roads to reach Neda are several, depending on where one has a starting point, but we will recommend the following route, quite long, but it will reward you to the fullest extent, since you will have passed through as many wonderful destinations as possible.

Karytaina

Starting from Karytaina which is located in the area of ancient Vrenthi, traditional stone-built settlement, "Toledo of Greece" as Nick Kazantzakis described it, diamond of Gortynia, with the castle which was the base of Theodoros Kolokotronis, with many attractions, such as the fortifications of the area, the Koukos bridge and the famous bridge of Karytaina, from where the river Alpheios passes, but it is not the only river of Karytaina, just outside the village, passes the other great river of the Peloponnese, Lousios.

stone-built village Karytaina

From there we take the road to another beautiful village, that of Andritsaina, which is located on the borders of Arcadia, Ilia, Messinia. Andritsaina played an important role in the Greek revolution of 1821, but also in the Orlofic revolution, and was attacked by Ibrahim pasha of Egypt in 1826. Stone-built, with paved alleys, while fountains run cool water. In the village is located the Nikolopouleios library, founded in 1840 by Konstantinos Agathofron Nikolopoulou, with rare manuscripts and more than 40,000 volumes of books. Andritsaina, built on the west side of mount Lykaios, the oldest and most sacred point of the ancient Arcadians, with the highest peak of Cretea, where according to legend the god Zeus was born, while the nymph Neda, Agnos and Theisoa bathed in the waters of Arcadia, hence the name of the river Neda that interests us in this journey, from the nymph Neda. At the foot of Lykaios there is Lykosoura, which according to Pausanias was the first city founded in the world, the first city seen by the sun, oldest of all cities on mainland land and islands: "above a few wall and enclosure of Lykosoura, this city is the oldest of the world, was built before all other cities in mainland or island, Lykosoura was the first, this city seen the sun first, from this city all other people learn how built cities" (Pausanias VIII, 38, 1 Arcadian book).

Andritsaina

From there, 14 km south of Andritsaina, we continue our way to another great and important destination, the temple of Apollo Epicurius (420-410 BC). The Parthenon of the Peloponnese, was built by Ictinos, the first monument in Greece to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1968, is located in Vasses, Figaleia. A real jewel of the ancient world, where anyone who visits it will hear the beats of the past beating like a heart in this sacred place, which apart from being a historian, is also of exceptional natural beauty. To mention that these beautiful villages, historical monuments, routes, we will analyze in more detail in another journey, since in this epicenter is Neda.

temple of Apollo Epicurius

We go to Figaleia, the ancient Arcadian city, which today belongs administratively to the prefecture of Ilia. It belonged to Parrasia chora and was located next to the river Neda. The settler of the city was Figaleas, one of the sons of Lycaon, grandson of Pelasgus. In Figaleia there was the temple of Athena, a statue of Hermes and a temple of Dionysus. From here we are too close to Nedas river. As you get to Figaleia, you can admire its ancient fountain, as well as the archaeological site of Figaleia, which is very close to the river. From there, following signs and local directions, through a not very easy road, we will reach our destination, Nedas waterfalls, either by hiking from Figaleia for those who have endurance, or by car to a point.

ancient Figaleia

The river Neda, springs from mount Lykaio mentioned above, between the villages Kakaletri and Petra, very close to Andritsaina. Its waters after a course of 32 km, end in the Ionian sea, at the location Elaia, just outside Kyparissia. As we said, the name comes from the nymph Neda, the fairy who nursed Zeus. On the way to the waterfalls, there is really no way that someone does not feel a feeling of incredible serenity that nature offers generously through trees such as plane trees, poplars, oaks, cypresses, while beautiful plants complement the table, with campanulas, iris, crocuses, wild cloves, orchids and many more. The avifauna of the area is very rich, with falcons, snake eagles, sparrowhawks, hoopoes, kingfisher, thrushes, nightingales, many small birds that beautify the place with their voices and their presence, as well as the reptile fauna is interesting, with toads, frogs, turtles, lizards and snakes. The mammals of the area are foxes, ferrets, badgers, hedgehogs, bats and other small mammals, while we will find a large number of butterflies and dragonflies. The ichthyofauna of the river consists of the very rare endemic species of fish, golden menida, as well as river bullheads, eels and river mullets.

Neda

Hiking is neither short nor easy, especially when we are talking about summer months, so it is good with you to have only the essentials, which is a camera to capture the landscape, food and water. Of course, we do not need to mention that during our stay or leaving, we do not leave any garbage or anything else behind. We leave as we came, we treat the place with the utmost respect, which is not our home, as there we are guests, so we must leave as little human intervention as possible, so that we can find the place as we found it originally, wonderful and unique.

Neda's waterfall

As we proceed we reach the first waterfall. There comes the first pleasant and dazzling picture, since it is a small but beautiful waterfall, in beautiful nature. The waters of the waterfall fall gently and form a small natural pool with turquoise waters. Right next to the waterfall there is a small wooden bridge. From there you will ascend to the destination for which we came to here, the great waterfall of Neda. The route is not easy, so you need to be quite careful, not to make hasty moves, since it is important to enjoy the landscape as much as possible.

first waterfall

On reaching it, there is now where every visitor, loses his speech. A magnificent waterfall, throws its icy waters, forming a small lake in dense vegetation, like a fairy nest, throwing its waters from the rocks so that they reach the first waterfall and from there to the river. The waters are frozen, as soon as you enter the waters of the river, you will literally tremble, but you will feel your body reborn, leave everything behind in the running water and come out new again, and inside you will feel an absolute peace, an incredible joy, as without exaggeration, the landscape there is truly an earthly paradise. At the bottom left of the first waterfall you will find a cave of incredible beauty, Stomio. A large tunnel where the waters of the river are lost, with great care one can visit the point, where you better have a local or connoisseur of the area with you. Near a hill there is a small chapel of Panagia, which you can visit.

second waterfall

Take as many photos as you can, as it is a place that is really worth having in your albums, but then turn off all the phones and cameras and fully immerse yourself in the sounds of nature, the running water, tune in to this miracle of nature, while you are there you will wonder, what best describes this place, "gift of God to people", "miracle of nature", "a natural oasis in the modern world", you will feel an incredible nostalgia leaving, but also a great joy to come in this place again.

waters of Neda, the wealth of nature