Perama Cave

The cave was discovered in 1940 by locals digging shelter in the hillside and opened to visitors in 1956. It runs about 1,700 metres through a series of chambers on several levels, of which roughly 1,100 metres are on the visitor route, and its density of formation is the attraction: stalactites, stalagmites, columns, curtains and helictites in nineteen types, lit along a path with steps and handrails. Bear bones found inside show it was used by cave bears, and the temperature holds around seventeen degrees year-round. The tour lasts about forty-five minutes and finishes at an upper exit with a view over Lake Pamvotida and Ioannina. It is among the most visited caves in Greece and can be busy in season.

What you actually see

• The main chambers - halls dense with columns and curtains of calcite.
• The formation variety - nineteen recorded types of speleothem.
• The lit route - about 1,100 metres of walkway, steps and rails.
• The exit view - Lake Pamvotida and the city from the upper entrance.

When to go

Year-round; the interior is a constant seventeen degrees, so it works as a hot-day or rainy-day visit. Tours leave frequently in summer and less often in winter.

Honest expectations

The route has many steps and is not accessible for limited mobility. Tours are guided at a fixed pace, in Greek with variable English. It is damp and photography without flash is difficult. Crowds build in the middle of the day.

Nearby

Ioannina and its lake island are minutes south; the Zagori villages begin north.