Fermor on the Taygetos
It was the early 1950s when a Briton with dishevelled hair, a solid pair of boots, and notebooks full of sketches and observations set off on foot from Sparta. Patrick Leigh Fermor wanted to cross the Taygetos to reach the Mani. No mule, no road. Only his feet and a guide.
He climbed through the forests on the slopes, crossed the watershed at Portes, and descended through the Rintomo Gorge — what we now call the Vyros Gorge, near Kardamyli.
"An enormous wall of rock — a dry, waterless hell of stone."
Nine and a half hours walking through the gorge, leaping from rock to rock. At the end: the village of Exochori and Kardamyli.
The Book and a Life in Kardamyli
The result of that wandering was the book "Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponnese" (1958) — one of the most important travel books of the 20th century.
Leigh Fermor settled in Kardamyli, built a house at Kalamitsi overlooking the Messenian Gulf, and remained there until his death in 2011. His house now belongs to the Benaki Foundation and opens to visitors.
John Kittmer, 2015: The Route Repeated
Since then, dozens of hikers from around the world have retraced the route "in the footsteps of Fermor." In 2015, then-British Ambassador John Kittmer set out from Mystras, crossed the Taygetos over four days of hiking, and arrived in Kardamyli — exactly as Fermor had done.
"Nature made us dizzy. The beauty was so intense it was overwhelming."
Today, this route — Mystras, ascent of Taygetos, EOS Sparta Refuge, Summit of Profitis Ilias (2,407m), Vyros Gorge, Kardamyli — forms part of the Sparta Trail and the Mani Trail. The E4 European Long-Distance Path also crosses it.
Every year new hikers leave Mystras with a copy of "Mani" in their pack. They arrive in Kardamyli tired, legs spent and eyes full. Exactly like him.
Connected Trails
Sparta Trail: Mystras, Taygetos ascent, EOS Sparta Refuge.
Mani Trail: Vyros Gorge, Exochori, Kardamyli.
E4 Peloponnese: Taygetos section, Summit Profitis Ilias (2,407m).
Sources
blogs.fcdo.gov.uk — UK FCO Blog: Kittmer hike Mystras to Kardamyli
patrickleighfermor.org — On the trail of Patrick Leigh Fermor in Greece
cabanamagazine.com — Cabana Magazine: Mani & Fermor
greece-journal.com — Greece Journal: Leigh Fermor House