Leonidio is a haven for hikers, climbers and nature lovers. It is located in the province of Kynouria around 3 hours from Athens by car. The city was built between the sea and the foot of the mount Parnon.
We heard about Leonidio because it is one of the best spots to climb in Greece, but later we figured out other curious things.
Cultivation Tradition
One thing that called my attention while we arrived was that from the sea until you reach the city, all the area is full of crops, they are cultivating mainly tomatoes, olives, orages, salads and egg plant.
This is what I found in another blog
Leonidio is known for its unique eggplants which are grown in farms on the plain between the town and the sea. They are the light purple ones with white stripes that they call tsakones and every year in August, after the 15th they have their eggplant festival which attracts people from all over Greece and from other countries as well. Part of the festival is a competition among chefs for the best eggplant dish. The EU has even designated Leonidio as the Tsakonika Eggplant Capital of Europe for having the best tasting and sweetest eggplants.
But a town can’t survive on eggplants alone and Leonidio, being a short distance from the citrus orchards of the Argolis, also grows an early tangerine called satsouma as well as clementines and navel oranges. The town is also known for its tomatoes, considered to be among the best in Greece and of course olives like just about everywhere else in the Peloponessos.
The climbing Mecca
When you think about climbing and Greece, first thing that comes to mind is Kalymnos that I’m sure that it is an amazing place, but it is reaching there is not that easy, it is an island that is closer from Turkey than central Greece, so it requires some planning. Mainly while traveling in a motor home, move to a island is a bold decision.
For this trip we decided that we would not go there and so looking for good places to climb in the main land we found Leonidio that turned out to the the “Mecca of climbing” in the main land.
The local community
In the city they have a local community that is developing the climbing in the zone, it is called Panjika and in the city there is a store and cafe that you can stop by and visit. https://www.panjika.org.
It is a non-profit organization and they produce and sell a climbing guide book that the profits will help to maintain the climbing in the zone, opening new routes and sectors and also they promote some events for the community. So even if you don’t need, you can buy the guide to help the project
⚠️ Breaking into cars
We heard that in some crags around Greece, it is happening that people is breaking into cars and steeling. So be careful and be sure let your valuables at home, not in the car.
This was a pity for us, we are living full time in a motorhome, so our live is in our car so we cannot risky. To be able to climb we had to stay in a camping side and go to the crag by bike.
The sea side
The place is also really inviting to enjoy the sea side. Long story short Leonidio is an amazing place to be in contact with the nature.
