Vouraikos Canyon

The Vouraikos is a river with its sources starting from Erymanthos, it is 37.5 kilometers long, it is also called the Kalavrytino river In mythology, its name is due to Voura, the daughter of Elikis and Iona whom Heracles loved, and for whom, according to the legend, he opened the gorge so that he could pass through to reach the sea and meet her.

The Vouraikos Gorge, which is about 20 kilometers long, is surrounded by dense vegetation, steep rocks, waterfalls and caves. The cog railway Diakoptos – Kalavrytons also passes through the gorge. Also, on the banks of the Vouraikos river there is a cave where, according to mythology, there was an oracle dedicated to Hercules and the pilgrims cast their anklets and read the oracles on the Tablets of Knowledge.

More than 120 years ago, the Diakopto-Kalavryta cog railway, starting from the coastal town of Diakopto and parallel to the river tracks, built bridges, dug tunnels, and managed to climb up to Kalavrita to join these two points. The Diakopto-Kalavryton cog railway is a beautiful railway route in Greece that is worth seeing for anyone visiting the Peloponnese.