La Riviera & Aqua Park

River Neda is one of the few rivers of Greece that still offer an environment so virgin and untouched by human activity. Besides, it is –maybe- the only Greek river that has been given a female name, in honor of the nymph Neda, a deity of the waters. Neda, according to the Greek Mythology, had bathed the infant Zeus in the river Gortynios (Lousios), together with the nymphs Theisoa and Agno. The river crosses a narrow canyon of unimaginable beauty, creating an almost mystical landscape, with waterfalls and natural pools spread between wooded hill slopes, under the shade of huge plane-trees, oaks, fig-trees and thick bushy vegetation. It is an almost religious experience to take a bath in the crystal clear water of the pools created by the three waterfalls. However, there are several difficult points, where the riverbed becomes extremely narrow and the river becomes a rapid and dangerous stream.

The archaeological site of the ancient Olympia –which was buried under the mud of the nearby riverbed, up to 1766, when it was recovered- was not thoroughly searched until the origins of the 19th century, when the German archaeologist Ernst Curtius started the excavations. Thus came to back to light a great number of treasures, including the exquisite statue of Hermes that was placed in the Temple of Hera. Your “pilgrimage” in the ancient Greek history can start from the Olympic Games Museum, where you can learn a lot about the history of the Games and the way in which they were conducted in ancient times. A new-built but beautiful pedestrian street leads from the Museum to the archaeological site. Among the many astonishing exhibits of the new Archaeological Museum, you will have the opportunity to admire the statue of Hermes sculptured by Praxiteles and the “Nike” of Paionios, as well as the numerous and beautiful bronze ornaments and items of the temple that used to be boxed up and packed in the limited spaces of the old establishments.

The monastery is located near Kyllini in a sensational landscape that strikes the visitor with its simplicity. It was built during the 12th century and the origins of its name derive from the famous Monastery of Vlacherna in Constantinople, to which it was dependant. However, time and disasters have destroyed important records of the monastery, a fact that provokes a dispute upon the details of its establishment. The temple of the monastery is a blending, a merge of western as well as eastern architectural elements