Kastanitsa Arcadias
The most ancient village of Tsakonia with the dialect of Tsakonia spoken even today from the inhabitants. The first written appearance of the village was in 1239. 152km from Athens and 72km from Tripolis and 840m from the bottom of the sea,is a historical preservable area with a special architecture and white houses from stones of Malevo.
The colourful windows of the houses, most of them are towers more than 300 years and the flowers in gardens and yards, give a sense of island to the village that is built between two green gorges.
The inhabitants fought against the Turkish conqueror in 1896 from the castle of the village, where the view is stunning. The chestnut forest of the area is of exceptional beauty and is recognized as nature preserve. As a matter of fact, the festival of chestnut attracts several people, as the visitors can walk through great natural paths, enjoy the unique landscape of Parnonas and relax from the noise of the city.
The village offers a guest house, small hostels and a fantastic square with an amazing view. Outside the village there is the church of Agiou Nicolaou and Panteleimonos Kontolinas. The church was rescued in the 17th century after Imbraim' s attach. The signs of the fire are obvious even today, mostly at the dome. From this point, begins the impressive gorge of Mazia, one of the gorges of Parnonas.
