Diros Caves

The Diros Caves are one of Greece's most important natural sites; the truly spectacular cave complex is located in Laconia, on the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese peninsula. A visit to the caves is like traveling back in time to the Neolithic period or entering a fairytale.

The Diros complex is made up of the caves of Vlychada, Alepotrypa, and Kataphygi. The caves formed hundreds of thousands of years ago, and the stalactites and stalagmites that are now underwater formed when sea levels were much lower than they are now. Stalactites have been discovered at a depth of 71 meters, while the cave's maximum depth has been discovered off the tourist route, and is 80 meters. The Hellenic Speleological Society's founders, Ioannis and Anna Petrochilos, were the first to conduct a systematic exploration of Vlychada, the complex's main cave, in 1949. Visitors were first permitted to enter the caves in 1967, six years after the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) completed the visitor accommodation works that had begun six years earlier.

Location: Pyrgos Dirou, Greece