A land of tower houses, castles, ancient sites, Byzantine chapels, beautiful beaches and spectacular caves in the Peloponnese
Dry, bare and rugged.
Mani is the land of the prickly pear, bristling with forbidding tower houses, stone villages, Byzantine chapels, delightful coves and astonishing caves. The people here are frugal and close – knit, still adhering to centuries – old bloodlines and family ties.
In ancient times, Mani was considered part of Laconia, a region dominated by the powerful city-state (polis) of Sparta. Its administration is now divided between the municipalities of East Mani in modern Laconia, and West Mani in Messenia. Mani’s towns include Areopoli, Gytheio, and Pyrgos Dirou.
Notable sites in Mani include the ruins of the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Matapan, the Monastery of Panayia Yiatrissa, and the Apidima Cave with its Neanderthal fossils.
