Elati: trails, history, facilities, routes
Explore Elati
Elati is a small village hidden in a fold of Western Menalon, between the forest and the bed of Mylaon river. The village is sometimes still named after its old name, Gerzenikos, a reflection of the old and now forever lost hamlet near the Efta Psomia meadow, on the way to Alonistaina. Gerzenikos, built around the Paleohori spring, flourished until the end of 18th century. The only memory on location today is the nicely reconstructed church of Zoodochos Pigi, once the parish church of the hamlet.
General view
Elati has much in common with the adjacent settlements of Pyrgaki, now deserted, and the hidden village Methydrio, with whom it shares a common destiny. All three ware founded in the period of the economy of survival, when hamlets originated and sustained spontaneously among the resources of the forest and meadows of the mountain. In the quadrangle formed by the three villages and the monastery of Agii Theodori, as a fourth node, Elati stands out as it is located along the inner road connextion from Vytina to Alonistena.
Old two-storey house in Elati
Crossing the loose residential web of the village that lies on the small green amphitheater, the main road passes by the parish church of the Panagia, creating a new gravity center. A tavern and a large hotel complex compose the tourist facilities of Elati for the visitor seeking a simpler scenery than the lively Vytina, in the immediate proximity of natural landscape and forest.
The imposing hotel Chalet Elatis
The Papavasileiou mansion, one of the largest houses in Elati
Hiking around Elati
Mt Menalon topoguide includes all trails around Elati.
Text and photos by T. Adamakopoulos
topoguide Greece
A guide to Mt Menalon
Mt Menalon topoguide is available for Android devices as one of the dozens of available region of Greece via the topoguide Greece application. Mt Menalon topoguide is a member of the Peloponnese group. Get the Mt Menalon guide as an in-app purchase through the app.
Mt Menalon topoguide is also available for iOS (iPhone & iPad) devices via the application Topoguide Greece. Get the Mt Menalon guide as an in-app purchase through the app, found in the Peloponnese group.
topoguide Greece offers active navigation along the trails, as well as a comprehensive guide to the geography, the nature and the culture of the area.