Koutouki Cave

The cave was discovered in 1926 when a shepherd's goat fell through a hole in the hillside and the man climbed down after it; systematic exploration followed and it opened to visitors in 1978. The show cave is essentially one chamber about sixty by sixty metres and up to twenty metres high, packed with stalactites, stalagmites, columns and curtains lit along a short walkway, with the formations still growing under a steady drip. The temperature holds around seventeen degrees and humidity is high. It is the closest cave of its kind to Athens, reachable in half an hour from the centre, and the drive up the eastern flank of Hymettus gives views over the Mesogeia plain toward the airport and the Aegean.

What you actually see

• The main chamber - a single large hall dense with formations.
• The lit walkway - a short circuit through the cave with coloured lighting.
• The growing formations - active drip and fresh calcite on the columns.
• The Mesogeia view - the plain and the sea from the cave entrance.

When to go

Year-round; the constant temperature makes it a useful hot-day or rainy-day trip from Athens. Tours run at set times and are shorter in winter.

Honest expectations

The visit is brief, about thirty minutes inside, and guided at a fixed pace, usually in Greek. There is no public transport to the cave, so a car is needed. The coloured lighting is dated in style.

Nearby

Paiania and the Vorres Museum lie below; Mount Hymettus trails run above.