Lagadia: trails, history, facilities, routes
Explore Lagadia
Lagadia is built on very steep slope of the Gortynian mountains, in an area which, despite the fact it makes the construction of buildings particularly complex, it has many qualities: it's located above an apparent geographical exit from the region of Gortynia towards the west (from here passed the ancient road connecting Sparti, Megalopoli, Methidrio and Theuthis to Olympia, the route used in Ancient times by all those going to the Olympic Games in Olympia from eastern Peloponnese), it has many springs and provides strong defense and safety.
General view
The need for careful design and construction of buildings, pushed the local craftsmen to develop techniques of high stability in stonebuilt construction, a skill that cemented their reputation as the best builders of the Peloponnese. The craftsmen of Lagadia have built both in Arcadia, and the rest of Greece, hundreds of great buildings, churches, bridges and belltowers.
The main road, crossing the commercial core of the town
Lagadia is an important regional administrative and cultural hub and the birthplace of great personalities and fighters of 1821, like the Deligianis family. Among the numerous historic buildings of Lagadia, more noticeable are the Deligianis mansion in the upper part of the village.
Agii Apostoli, built in 1853
All the churches of Lagadia are very interesting, drom an architectural point of view. Most important buildings are are the Taxiarches church (1805) and the church of Agii Apostoli (1854) in the lower part of the village, the stonebuilt High School, the church of Timios Prodromos (1808) and the chapels of Panagia Gounaris (1862) and the Agia Triada.{cr}{cr}
The High School of Lagadia built in 1868
The city has a remarkable tourism infrastructure and shops where you can buy textiles, local pasta, sweets and handcrafted products. The Carnival festival and the summer folksong contest in Panigyristra are just some of the many festive events taking place in Lagadia. Visit the nearby sources of river Lousios in Agia Paraskevi Kaloneri and the the small traditional villages in the basin of the Lagadiano river.
A memorial to the craftsmen of Lagadia
Aroma cafe, the common meeting point for hikers
Paliotsoupa, a shepherd's hamlet
Boufi valley
Hiking around Lagadia
Mt Menalon topoguide offers a hiking guide for Lagadia, which includes many routes around the town, some loop trails or short walks, but also long trails and crossings.
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.