Didyma Craters

The two Didyma craters are sinkholes formed when underground limestone caverns collapsed, leaving circular pits in the middle of farmland. The larger is about 150 metres across and 150 metres deep with sheer sides and a wooded floor, best seen from the rim. The smaller, some 60 metres wide, is the reason people come: a narrow tunnel through the rock leads into the pit, and against the far wall stand two chapels, Agios Georgios of the thirteenth century and the Metamorphosis, built into a rock overhang with fragments of fresco still on the plaster. Standing inside, with the circle of sky above and figs growing out of the walls, is the memorable part. Farmers work olive groves right up to the rims, and there are no barriers at the big crater.

What you actually see

• The small crater - a tunnel entrance leading to two chapels inside the pit.
• The frescoed chapels - medieval churches under an overhang in the crater wall.
• The large crater - a 150-metre sinkhole with sheer walls and a wooded floor.
• The rim farmland - olive groves running up to the edge.

When to go

Spring for green and wildflowers inside the pits; autumn for clear light. Midday sun reaches the crater floor and makes photography easier.

Honest expectations

The large crater has no fence and no path down, so keep well back from crumbling edges. The tunnel to the small crater is low and dark in places. Signposting from the village is poor and a map helps. No facilities at all.

Nearby

Ermioni and the Argolic coast lie south; Nafplio is about an hour north.