It’s not hard to see why the travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor fell for the Mani peninsula in the southern Peloponnese. He loved it so much that he and his wife, Joan, built a house just outside the village of Kardamyli and they split their time between there and England. In his book Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese he describes it as being “like those Elysian confines of the world where Homer says that life is easiest for men; where no snow falls, no strong winds blow nor rain comes down, but the melodious west wind blows for ever from the sea to bring coolness to those who live there”.
As I am here with my three-year-old and one-year-old I can’t speak to the easiness of life but I can certainly agree that, sheltered by the Taygetus mountains, Kardamyli and the Mani itself are in a special position. I like that you can sit on the beach here and wonder at the barren mountain range, which runs for roughly 62 miles from Morea to Cape Matapan, the southernmost point of mainland Greece and the mythical home of Hades, the god of the underworld (on another trip I visited this windswept, empty place and suffice to say it has atmosphere).
It’s 29C on our mid-September visit (hurrah for the shoulder season), the sea gorgeously clear and warm — and we can still eat outside in the evening. We are staying in Villa Koroneiki, one of a trio of new-builds collectively called Katergo Villas, which all reference the local tower-house style. Mini fortresses, basically, from which the Maniots fired at one another in battles that would sometimes last for decades. The sea stretches out in front, the mountains lurk behind, disappearing into the darkness at night with only a twinkle of lights in their lower reaches. There’s a pristine pool, a balcony (albeit a small one) and lots of outdoor lounging space with neatly planted olive trees.
The villa’s owner, George Tsiligoneas, is a local businessman and he also has a launderette, which means we can get our washing done for no extra charge. I’m sorry to get to the domestic nuts and bolts so early on but, with two small children, this is a brilliant villa extra. Is there anything more smug-making than returning home with a suitcase full of clean clothes? Domestic downer: the very small kitchen with not enough drying space for the washing-up. The upside of that? All the more reason to eat out. And we are given a host of options for the latter by Arvin Gautama, our brilliant concierge, who also brings his wife’s homemade orange biscuits — making at least two instant friends.
Villa Koroneiki is part of a trio of contemporary stone-built villas in the Mani
The location scores points too. It’s on the coast path so we can walk either 20 minutes north to the village of Stoupa with its sheltered, curving bay, little harbour and waterfront shops and restaurants, or 30 minutes south to the village of Agios Nikolaos, which has more of a local feel but no sandy beach. The Stoupa walk is popular as it takes us through olive groves and past a large pen of chickens and magnificent black turkeys that gobble loudly. There’s also a playground, a good bakery (we became cinnamon bun regulars) and the low-key Ammos Gyros, which served the best chips of the trip and generous gyros.
Going south to Agios Nikolaos we stop at the swimming platform at (step-access) Gnospi, which with its immediately deep, beautifully turquoise water and slippery rocks is totally inappropriate for our young children. An old lady lends us a noodle float so we take them in for a brief, treading-water dip. There’s a tiny chapel built into the rock face and, amazingly, showers. At Agios Nikolaos people are sunbathing on loungers on the rocks and breakfasting in cafés by the water.
A 30-minute walk south leads to Agios Nikolaos, which maintains a local feel
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Of course we visit the Leigh Fermor house, which is now run by the Benaki Museum and Aria Hotels. Curious tourists — a mixture of hippies and well-heeled, smartly dressed travellers on our visit — can pop in for one-hour nose-arounds. It has gorgeous views over the sea, a large living room with walls of books (including In Tearing Haste, the collection of letters between PLF and his friend Deborah Devonshire) and a well-stocked drinks trolley. Nancy Mitford, Bruce Chatwin, John Craxton (the couple owned some of the artist’s work) and John Betjeman were all guests and you can imagine what fun they must have had on that vast terrace with its prettily patterned pebble floor. But there is no tour so you have to do your own homework. Tickets must be booked in advance (£4.30; benaki.org). The sandy beach below, where Patrick swam every day, is lovely (more hippies — no homework required).
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The historic stone residence of Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor is now part of the Benaki Museum
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Kardamyli must be busier than it was in Leigh Fermor’s day — he incorrectly predicted that “it is too inaccessible and there is too little to do there, fortunately, for it ever to be seriously endangered by tourism”. It attracts devotees. One German couple we meet in a restaurant by the tiny town beach tell us that they’ve been coming every year for the past 20 years. That’s commitment. The village is pretty bouji, with lots of shops on the busy main road, and proper ice cream (including an unusual mastic option) in Maistros all Greek restaurant (£2.60 a scoop). And the taverna set up by the Leigh Fermors’ cook, Lela, in 1983 is still in operation, run by her grandson (lelastaverna.com). Down by the harbour we spot wedding preparations under way.
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The bigger, pebble beach, Ritsa, is a five-minute drive further north. With no shade, it’s the full hot-stone treatment, though there are plenty of cool tavernas in the trees on the other side of the road. We like Elies restaurant so much, with its large outdoor seating area amid blooming hibiscus, that we go back for a second sitting (mains from £7).
Despite Patrick Leigh Fermor’s hope it would remain inaccessible, Kardamyli now attracts devotees
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Escape the tourists by heading for the hills
One day we head into the hills and swiftly leave behind any trace of tourism. Departing early for a walk into the Vyros Gorge, near Kardamyli, we meet only a couple of workmen repairing the beginning of the path. It’s blissfully peaceful, the light golden, as we walk through forest in its autumnal wardrobe to a church, Moni Sotiras, next to what was once a river but is now a dry bed full of smooth grey and white boulders. The date 1807 has been scratched on a wall. Apparently, during festivals there are pilgrimages down here and the outside bell still rings, deep and sonorous. On our own, all the way down here, I hope it conjures only good spirits. We follow the riverbed, our daughter treating the rocks like an assault course, and pass terracotta-coloured cliffs before climbing our way out to views of the sea, Kardamyli below, and Tseria, one of the highest villages in the Pelopponese, on the opposite side of the gorge.
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Tseria looks so tempting that we go back and visit on another day. It’s quiet, in a haze of heat, with tight-squeeze streets and a vast view over Messinian Bay. The fig trees are dropping small green fruit and there are chickens clucking somewhere out of sight. A lady comes out of a café to say hello to my daughter and give her a Mickey Mouse keyring.
Another evening we go to the village of Pigi, about a 15-minute drive into the mountains from our villa, for supper and Greek music in Stathi’s Tavern, next to the church. Grey clouds have gathered overhead and there’s a rush to tidy away the paper tablecloths when the rain does actually fall. I’m afraid we don’t last until the late-starting music but it’s busy with tourists and the food, especially the large tray of starter dishes (everything from saganaki to beetroot salad) from which to choose, is good.
The other reason to go into the mountains is for the tiny Byzantine churches. Take the titchy mid-13th-century St Nicholas at Maroulaina in Kastania, one of the smallest cross-vaulted churches in the Peloponnese, where the frescoes include a galleon being rowed over a broiling sea; and St Peter’s Church, where I disturb a bat and swiftly retreat. We also climb the 18th-century Dourakis tower and think how nice it would be to linger in the square next door in the shade of a large horse chestnut tree. But there’s no such thing as lingering on holidays with small children. Unless you count the hours clocked up in the pool back at our villa, which they will happily jump in and out of with unceasing pleasure. So you’ll have to go to the Mani and do some lingering for me. You’ll like it, I promise.
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Jenny Coad was a guest of Simpson Travel. Seven nights’ self-catering for four at Villa Koroneiki at Katergo Villas from £830pp, including flights, car hire and concierge services. Fly to Kalamata
Other great places to stay in the Mani
By Jenny Coad
Hotel Citta dei Nicliani, Kitta
This is the genuine tower house experience in the village, Kitta, that Patrick Leigh Fermor also visited. “These two mad villages of Kitta and Nomia shot straight out of the rock in a grove of rectangular organ pipes… some of the towers were flanked with a stripe of shade, some turned bare and two-dimensional towards the sun”. The building is a designated ancient monument and the rooms have character — elegant antique marble sinks, artwork by the Athens-born Miltos Pantelias and rough stone walls. One room, the grotta, dates back to the 11th century. Eating here is something special: the setting is atmospheric, the food is cooked by Ilias Sepsas, who owns and runs the hotel with his wife, Tania and son, Panagiotis.
Details B&B doubles from £109 (cittadeinicliani.com). Fly to Kalamata
Aria Estate Suites & Spa, Limeni
We didn’t make it to Limeni, known for its blinkingly bright turquoise waters and turtles (if you’re lucky), but it’s on my list for next time. The village on the southern side of Oitylo Bay looks very pretty. On the northern side you’ll find less glamorous, but also less busy, Karavostasi and the fish taverna O Faros. Go to the next bay south, Diros, and you’ll find caves that reach depths of 80m and showcase spectacular stalactites; you can take 25-minute tours (from £8; diros-caves.gr). Stay at Aria Estates, right on the coast, with views of the Messinian Bay. It has sea-facing suites, a restaurant serving Maniot specials such as siglino (smoked pork) and a spa.
Details B&B doubles from £147 (aria-estate.com). Fly to Kalamata