Vouraikos Gorge

The Vouraikos cuts inland from the Gulf of Corinth in a gorge that narrows in places to little more than the width of the river, and a narrow-gauge rack railway was built through it to reach Kalavryta. The line runs about 22 kilometres and takes roughly an hour, using toothed rack sections on the steepest gradients, crossing the river repeatedly on short bridges and passing through tunnels cut straight into the rock. In the tight middle section the walls close in on both sides and the carriage windows fill with wet limestone and plane trees. The upper end opens out into a mountain basin around Kalavryta, a small town at around 750 metres that works mostly as a winter base for the ski centre above.

What you actually see

• The narrows - the tightest stretch of gorge, where walls close in on both sides of the track.
• The rack sections - toothed rail on the steep gradients, audible from inside the carriage.
• The river crossings - repeated short bridges over the Vouraikos with pools below.
• Kalavryta basin - the open mountain valley at the top of the line, with the ski centre above.

When to go

Spring for high water and green, autumn for colour in the plane trees. Book online in advance for July, August and winter weekends; the carriages are small and sell out. Trains run only a few times a day in each direction, so plan the return before you go up. The line closes for maintenance periods, occasionally at short notice.

Honest expectations

The best views alternate between sides of the carriage, so a window seat is partly luck and the middle seats see little. It is a train ride, not a hike, and an hour each way is a lot of sitting for children. Walking the track through the gorge is dangerous and not permitted. Kalavryta itself is a brief stop rather than a destination.

Nearby

The Cave of the Lakes at Kastria, Mega Spilaio monastery and the beaches of the Corinthian Gulf coast.