A mountainous region in the far south of Greece, the Mani Peninsula has had a “world’s edge” reputation since the earliest days of civilisation. One way to explore and get a sense of its rugged beauty is on a week-long trip with The Slow Cyclist, says Pamela Goodman in The Sunday Times. This “boutique” company’s tours are as much about “the finer indulgences” as they are about “pedal power”.
Guests spend three nights at Citta dei Nicliani, a tiny hotel with a superb wine cellar in the village of Kitta, and three nights at the “exquisite” Ilias estate, set in olive groves further north. You are guided by historians and the bikes are electric, so the trips are interesting but not arduous, with daily swims and fine picnics as well as some outings on foot.
Known as the Deep Mani, the peninsula’s southern stretches are wild and barren places where stony hillsides plunge down to pebble beaches and “sparkling blue” seas. Kitta is typical of its villages, a huddle of age-old stone towers – “sturdy” fortified houses built by feuding families in this famously fierce (and fiercely independent) corner of the country.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At Cape Matapan, a shrine to Poseidon was once a place of sanctuary for rebels, pirates and adventurers. It is the second southernmost point of mainland Europe (after Tarifa, in Spain), a “last gasp of rocky desolation”, where a small cave, accessible only by boat, was once said to be the entrance to Hades.
The north feels “positively lush” by comparison. Here, forested river gorges cut through the Taygetos Mountains to the sea. James Heneage, the historical-fiction writer who owns Ilias with his wife Charlotte, is a fine guide, leading you to Byzantine churches with elaborate frescoes, and to the town of Kardamyli, made famous by another writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor.
Just one suggestion: though unstrenuous, the whole itinerary is so “action-packed”, you might do well to add a couple of days’ R&R at the end.
The trip costs from £3,600pp (theslowcyclist.co.uk).
-
The UK’s opioid crisis: why the stats don’t add upThe Explainer A new report has revealed that the UK’s total of opioid-related deaths could be much greater than official figures show
-
Gaza genocide: will UN ruling change anything?Today's Big Question Commission of Inquiry’s findings ‘give unprecedented weight’ to genocide claims
-
How The Summer I Turned Pretty has brought out the worst in its fansIn the Spotlight Amazon’s love-triangle hit ‘driving some of the most bonkers and unhinged online energy in the history of the internet’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti GatwaThe Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source NotesFeature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
