Pyrgos Dirou · Mani, Lakonia · Greece

Caves of Diros

natureculturegoogle verified

easy

9/10

best: morning, afternoon

mysterious, adventurous

A local would say...

A Neolithic settlement inside an underground lake — you tour it by boat past stalactites that look like a frozen forest.

An extraordinary subterranean river cave system with stalactites and stalagmites bearing names like the 'Palm Forest', 'Crystal Lily' and 'Three Wise Men'. Inhabited in Neolithic times and abandoned after a 4th-century BC earthquake, the caves were rediscovered in 1895 and are navigated by boat through underground lake passages. The natural entrance is on the beach, and local legend claims they extend all the way to Sparta.