Seven Springs

Epta Piges is a valley of springs in the hills behind Kolymbia, developed by the Italian administration in the 1930s to irrigate the plain below: seven sources feed a stream, and a tunnel about 186 metres long and barely wide enough for one person carries the water through the hillside into a small artificial lake. Walking the tunnel, ankle-deep in cold water and in complete darkness apart from the pinpoint of light at the far end, has become the reason most people come, though a footpath over the hill offers a dry alternative. Around the lake are plane trees, picnic ground and peacocks, and the whole valley is dense and green, a contrast with the dry coast a few kilometres away.

What you actually see

• The water tunnel - a 186-metre dark passage waded end to end.
• The lake - a small reservoir at the tunnel's outlet, ringed by trees.
• The springs - sources feeding the stream through the valley.
• The plane woods - deep shade and picnic areas along the water.

When to go

Spring and autumn for full flow and comfortable temperatures; in high summer the water level drops and the site fills with excursion groups. Early morning is quietest.

Honest expectations

The tunnel is genuinely narrow, pitch dark and wet, and anyone claustrophobic should take the path over the hill instead. Footwear gets soaked. The lake area is commercialised with a taverna and can be busy.

Nearby

Kolymbia beach lies below; Tsambika monastery and Archangelos are further down the coast.