For our first Puretrail Adventure overseas, we’ve found the ultimate trail running destination under the sun.

The Mani Peninsula is the undiscovered mountainous ‘middle finger’ of the Peleponnese, in Southern Greece.

The Taygetus Mountains run down the spine of the Mani and rise to a height of 2407 metres to form a spectacular panoramic backdrop to our adventures here. The highest peak – ‘Profitis Ilias’ is often snow-capped in Spring and late Summer and is visible from all directions and from our base on the coast.

        

Kardamyli has been chosen as the base for our Mani Adventures. It is part of the Messinian Mani, the northern section of the peninsula, less than an hour’s drive from Kalamata, our destination airport. It is a small, friendly, relaxed and typically Greek town with an ambience of tranquillity, balanced perfectly between the mountains, gorges, olive groves and blue waters of the Ionian.

It is an idyllic place to run, hike, mountain bike and generally hang-out and chill-out for a while.

Mark Brooks, Co-Race Director at Puretrail knows the area very well indeed. In his own words: “I’ve been returning to this place for almost 20 years. I’ve seen most of Greece and most of the Islands, but this place is a bit special. The mountains really do run down to the sea here in the Mani. The trails are deep, steep and highly technical in places. Sometimes there’s no option but to walk, but that’s not such a bad thing. Its just lovely to be there and take it all in. The Mani trails are generally dry and rocky, interspersed with what I call ‘Yellow Routes’ – Dirt tracks snaking through olive groves, connecting the little hill villages scattered throughout the middle and higher lands. It’s picture-postcard stuff. For a bit of R and R you can’t beat the combination of mountains, olive groves (there really are olives everywhere- Kalamata olives) and the crystal-clear waters of the Ionian Sea. It’s why I’ve been coming back for all these years, and there’s still so much to discover.”

    

Where We Fly To:
We fly from Gatwick to Kalamata. Using Easyjet. The flight takes 3 hours 20 minutes.

Luxury shuttle transfers to and from our base in Kardamyli (transfer time approximately 1 hour) are included.

A flight from Gatwick to Kalamata via Easyjet is NOT included in the pureTrail Adventure. It is YOUR responsibility to the book flights in order to arrive for your transfer in time.

Our Trail Base – Kardamyli on the Mani Peninsula is a hidden gem, the undiscovered jewel of trail running locations in Southern Greece.

SALOMON  know a thing or two about mountains and trail running, that’s why they’ve put their name to the Taygetus Challenge – a series of mountain races held in March each year, organised by our friends at 2407m.com in Kardamyli.

ACCOMMODATION
As we approach the town, from high above to the North, we see the terracotta red rooves in a sea of grey-green olive trees to one side and the turquoise waters of the Ionian Sea on the other. With the gorges running down viscerally to the shore, it’s a dramatic first impression.

We have procured the delightful Hotel Vardia  for your stay, just above Kardamyli town with incredible views over the olive groves and rooftops and facing westward for magnificent sunsets over the Messinian Gulf.

We can arrange mountain bike hire, horse riding, yoga, rock climbing and scuba diving all in the vicinity of Kardamyli. Please let us know in advance if you would like more information on these additional activities.

DAY 5

We return to the trails and once again find a new route amongst the olive groves and hill villages. Once again, the duration of the adventure will be approximately 3-4 hours including hiking up/running down with a brief stop for lunch.