Sights
There are many sights you can visit here in Pyrgos such as beaches archaeological sites and more.
SAINT ANDREAS BEACH
Saint Andreas Beach or Agios Andreas, is a stone’s throw from Katakolon Port, located just 4 km away! Hidden behind the hill of Katakolon, this stunning beach will excite all your senses .
It boasts incredible natural beauty and pristine waters.
The beach of Saint Andreas also has a great historical significance: Ancient Pheia was located inside the bay of Saint Andreas, which was the cape of Elis Prefecture.
It was used as base of the Athenian troops to capture the Elis Prefecture during the Peloponnesian War. Over the years, the port was devastated by the sea.
KOUROUTA BEACH
In recent years, Kourouta has developed into one of the most cosmopolitan resorts in the prefecture of Ilia. The sands stretch for over 16 km, washed by the crystalline waters of the Ionian Sea, situated only 21 km (13 miles) from the port of Katakolon.
There, you will admire the golden sand and the deep blue water of Kourouta beach which is awarded every year with blue flag* from EU. Kourouta has a lot to offer. In the middle, next to the sea, is an unspoiled pine forest. Along the seafront are countless cafe bars, restaurants, Greek tavernas serving ouzo, fresh fish and traditional dishes, hotels, rooms to rent and a campsite.
Sunbeds and umbrellas are available as long as you order something form the cafeterias that provide them.
We assure you that your stay in Kourouta will be unforgettable.
* The Blue Flag guarantees the quality, since beaches are awarded the Blue Flag based on compliance with 32 strict criteria covering the following:
- Environmental Education and Information
- Water Quality
- Environmental Management
- Safety and Services
The Blue Flag, international symbol of quality, is awarded by the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) through the ΕΕΠΦ (Greek Foundation for the Protection of Nature).
LEVENTOCHORI BEACH
Leventochori beach is located 5km approximately from Katakolo.
Access to the beach is via the road Pyrgou-Katakolou . The beach has a service infrastructure of bathers as umbrellas, deck chairs, showers, locker rooms and trash baskets. On the coast there are wooden walkways for easy access to the beach, kantina with tables and chairs for meeting the needs of the public.
SKAFIDIA BEACH
It is located 14 Kilometres northwest of Pyrgos. Many say that this is one of the most beautiful beaches of our country and those who visit it then reinforce this claim! A site of striking beauty with crystal clear waters. The beach of Skafidia, which was named probably because of its shape, is extremely popular with the locals and tourists thanks to the natural surroundings. The creek gathers hundreds of daily visitors to the area while there are cafes and restaurants which embraces the visitors and captures the willingness to hang in there!
BEACH OF KATO SAMIKO
Kato Samiko beach is located in the Gulf of Kyparissia and is about 8.5 km from the town of Krestena. The swimming coast is the coastal part of the open Kyparissia gulf, 68 km long. The length of the beach is 6,890 m., The average width is 50 m. And with southwest orientation. Both the coastal zone and the seabed are sandy. The coastal zone is partially modified, due to the existence of wooden corridors and wooden platforms for placing benches. At the edge of the coast there are scattered permanent buildings, landscaped lawn and part of it is used as a car park. Sea lilies are found on the beach. Marine biodiversity includes mainly algae while scattered mollusks (bivalve mollusks), arthropods (crustaceans (crabs)), sky animals (warblers). The bathing waters in the first meters are shallow and the slope of the bottom is gentle (at a distance of 220 m from the shore the depth is close to 5 m).
Access to the beach is by road, through the road network Kalamata – Pyrgos. The southeastern part of the beach is organized and has service facilities for bathers, such as umbrellas, sunbeds, toilets, showers, locker rooms, baskets and trash cans. There are refreshments on the shore, a lifeguard base and a volleyball court. The coast is used for swimming and the activities that take place are water sports (motorbike / cycling / sailing). The maximum number of bathers is estimated at 1,000 people.
ANCIENT OLYMPIA
The Olympic Games—the most famous and important sporting event in the ancient world—paid homage to the finest athletes. That tradition continues to this day, nearly 3,000 years later. But Olympia was not just used every four years to laud mortals. It was also a place where remarkable works of art and culture were created and shared to worship the Greek god Zeus.
It is this melding of history and the molding of modernity that makes this site so special. The Olympic Games in the times of ancient Greece were about more than sport. They represented peace and the nobility of competition. These ideals, and elements of the events, have continued to this day.
The modern Olympic Games are undoubtedly the world’s most important sporting competition and have their basis here. From the marathon to the olive wreath and the regularity of the event, there are still clear influences today from the ancient Greek times.
Stepping into the stadium, you imagine the roar of the crowd. This is the same track where athletes raced for glory millennia ago. The remains of dozens of buildings and temples sit among the shade of trees on the archaeological site. Some were specifically built for sporting events, and some for the worship of Zeus. A museum holds a collection of priceless artefacts that once decorated the sanctuary. See Olympia come alive with music and culture at its major events—the Ancient Olympia International Festival and the Olympia International Film Festival for children and young people.
PORT OF KATAKOLO
Katakolo is a seaside town in the municipality of Pyrgos in western Elis, Greece. It is situated on a headland overlooking the Ionian Sea and separating the Gulf of Kyparissia from the rest of the Ionian. It is 11 km (6.8 mi) west of Pyrgos. The small village of Agios Andreas, which in ancient times was the natural harbour for Ancient Olympia, lies northwest of Katakolo.
In the Middle Ages, Katakolo was the site of the fortress of Pontikon or Pontikokastro (Ποντικόν, Ποντικόκαστρο), which the Frankish rulers of the Principality of Achaea called Beauvoir or Belveder. The fortress was built by the Byzantines and taken over by the Franks ca. 1205.
The port of Katakolo is a popular stop for cruise ships, offering an opportunity for passengers to visit the site of Olympia. Low hills with forests surround Katakolo. Visitors here have the opportunity to visit the ancient port of Olympia, the sunken ancient city of Pheia. Ancient Pheia was on the other side of the mountain of Ichthys, now Agios Andreas, within walking distance of Katakolo port. The lighthouse of Katakolo was built in 1865. One of the most important sites of Katakolo is the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology.
Katakolo has a big market. It consists of more than sixty shops. Cafeterias, restaurants, clothing and traditional Greek products.
The remains of the medieval Pontikokastro/Belvedere/Beauvoir castle still stand on a hilltop northeast of the modern port, but the castle is mostly ruined and its original appearance can only be surmised.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF PIRGOS
The Archaeological Museum of Pyrgos was built in the late 19th century by Ernst Ziller, a great Saxon architect, to house the city’s Municipal Market. Nowadays, this beautiful neoclassical building functions as one of the most remarkable museums of Ilia and includes a large number and variety of exhibits, from prehistoric Ilia to post-Byzantine times.
It is a good starting point for the study of history that has been concentrated in the area of Ilia for centuries.
TEMPLE OF EPICURIOUS APOLLO
The temple was dedicated to Apollo Epikourios (“Apollo the helper”). It sits at an elevation of 1,131 metres above sea level on the slopes of Kotylion Mountain. Its construction is placed between 450 BC and 400 BC. It was supposedly designed by Iktinos, architect at Athens of the Parthenon.
The ancient writer Pausanias praises the temple as eclipsing all others but the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea by the beauty of its stone and the harmony of its construction.
Pausanias described it in the 2nd century:
- Phigalia is surrounded by mountains, on the left by the mountain called Kotilios . . . The distance from the city to Mount Kotilios is about forty stades. On the mountain is a place called Bassai, and the temple of Apollon Epikourios (the Helper), which, including the roof, is of stone. Of the temples in the Peloponnesos, this might be placed first after the one at Tegea for the beauty of its stone and for its symmetry. Apollon received his name from the help he gave in time of plague, just as the Athenians gave him the name of Alexikakos (Averter of Evil) for turning the plague away from them. It was at the time of the war between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians that he also saved the Phigalians, and at no other time; the evidence is that of the two surnames of Apollon, which have practically the same meaning, and also the fact that Iktinos, the architect of the temple at Phigalia, was a contemporary of Perikles, and built for the Athenians what is called the Parthenon. My narrative has already said that the tile image of Apollon is in the market-place of Megalopolis.
It was in use until the 4th- or 5th-century AD, when all pagan temples were forcibly closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
LAKE OF CAIAPHAS
Lake Caiaphas is a lake in Greece in the Peloponnese, in Ilia, in the spa town of Caiaphas. The lake is located next to the sea, has thermal waters while in the waters there are sports activities such as water skiing. Administratively it belongs to Zacharo from which it is five (5) kilometers away.
It covers an area of 1500 acres, length 3 kilometers and depth 2 meters. Inside the lake there is the island of Agia Aikaterini and on its shores the spa town of Caiaphas.
It is a wetland, the second largest in the wider area of the prefecture of Ilia after the ecosystem of the National Park of Wetlands Kotychi Strofilia, about 50 km north. It is separated from the sea by a part of a pine forest, which is also called “Strofilia” as well as special formations of sand dunes. The ecosystem has been severely damaged by rubbish, poaching, illegal logging, illegal logging and sporting activities on the lake.
The lake is believed to have been created around the 6th century AD after a major earthquake
NEDA WATERFALLS
The Neda is a river in the western Peloponnese in Greece. It is 31 km (19 mi) long, and its drainage area is 278 km2 (107 sq mi).[1] It is unique in the sense that it is the only river in Greece with a feminine name.The river begins on the southern slope of Mount Lykaion, near the village of Neda in northern Messenia. It flows to the west through a varied landscape of barren rock and forests. From near Figaleia until its mouth it forms the border of Messenia and Elis. There is a well known waterfall near the village Platania. The Neda flows into the Gulf of Kyparissia, a bay of the Ionian Sea, near the village Giannitsochori.Its fountain is located at the mountainous area on the border of two counties (very close to Andritsena) and after a 32 kilometers of a wonderful journey it ends at the bay of “Elaia” at Kyparissiakos. The canyon of Neda is accessible during the summer months and is a truly magical journey for all nature lovers.
The hiking can start from two spots, either from Elis near Figalia and Epicurean Apollo or Messinia near the villages Sidirokastro and Avlona. The ride is magical as framed by olive trees, fig trees, wild oak trees and kermes oak.
For the adventurous ones, there is a great route which requires walking and swimming in the waters of the river.
For the less-fit there is a smaller hiking path. Both get through the two small waterfalls of Neda and end on the third big waterfall which forms a beautiful natural laggon.
Whichever route you have chosen, a dip in the icy waters of the laggon under the big waterfall, is a unique pleasure after the fatigue of the hiking. I do not know how paradise looks, however when i reach the large waterfall of Neda i can only compare it to paradise.
If you are travelling with a camper you have to leave the camper at the square of the village “Platania” and hike for 3km.
NEMOUTA WATERFALLS
A hidden gem of the Greek countryside even for locals, the waterfalls of Nemouta will astonish you with their natural beauty. An ideal day-trip if you wish to experience the diversity of landscapes our land has to offer and break away from the summer heat!
Within less than an hour drive from Ploes Villas, you will find yourself driving through the vast, ancient oak forest of Foloi, home of the Centaurs, the mythical half-men, half-horse creatures of ancient Greek Mythology. It was Folos, one of the Centaurs that helped Hercules capture the free-roaming, destructive Erymanthian Boar (a symbol for the destructive power of the river Erymanthos), in one of the most popular myths of Ancient Greece and a beautiful allegory for man’s quest to control nature.
After a while you will find yourself in the small mountainous village of Nemouta. From there you can go on a hiking trail through the forest, and bathe in the waters of a series of waterfalls as well as in the Erymanthos river.
The “Gate of Heaven” is probably the most impressive of the waterfalls of Nemouta, and you will realize why it was aptly named this way when you get there! Conveniently also, it is also one of the most easily accessible waterfalls, approachable by a short walk through a footpath along a small stream (the start of the footpath being next to the road, where you can park your car). The moment you encounter the Gate of the huge pitfall, with fresh waters and light gushing from the open sky up above, is certainly awe-inspiring!
Shortly after the “Gate of Heaven” you will find a small metal bridge. If you cross it you will find yourself on a trail along the banks of Erymanthos river, passing by olive groves. Along the way you’ll meet the waterfalls named “Soufala” and “St. Ioannis” by the locals, and eventually reach a wide riverbank where you can enjoy diving and floating in the refreshing waters of Erymanthos river.
Nemouta waterfalls are a refreshing surprise in the heart of summer, one you should definitely try during your stay at Ploes Villas!
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