About the village of Megali Mandinia

[aka Megali Mantinia]

High on a ridge overlooking the Koskarakas gorge, Megali Mandinia has three excellent tavernas and a café, and stunning views towards the sea and mountains. Old stone houses rub shoulders with more recent homes in narrow lanes where bougainvillea and geraniums tumble over walls.

A dozen small churches and chapels are dotted around the village and every three weeks a simple bell announces a Sunday service.

Tracks lead to carefully tended vegetable gardens and little fields of free-ranging chickens, goats and the occasional donkey. Being a working village, there are picturesque alleys as well as scruffy-corners – in one an old VW camper van serves as a hay barn.

Some 200 people live in the village, predominantly Greek with a smattering from other EU countries. Farming the surrounding olive groves and raising animals are the main local occupations. Kalamata, famed for its olives, provides other work and schools, plus a good range of shops and entertainment.

For more information, see eating out and location.