Kyllini is gifted with beautiful organized beaches on the Ionian Sea, with monuments and antiquities which denote the rich historic past. The land is rich with plenty of water and produces delicious vegetables and fruit, the hills are covered with blessed olive trees and lemon trees. Most of the beaches are lined by a pine tree forest which ends at the very long beach.
There are several popular beaches on the coast. The thermal springs of Kyllini (Loutra Kyllinis) are the largest beach facility in the western Peloponnese. There is a monastery (Moni Vlachernon) southeast of Kato Panagia. The small island Kafkalida, near Cape Kyllini, is uninhabited. It carries a lighthouse.
More About Castle of Chlemoutsi
The best preserved Frankish castle of Peloponnese. It is situated at the top of a hill 250 m.high, called with the ancient name Helonata.
The Castle of Chlemoutsi was built between 1220 and 1224 by Geoffrey I Villehardouin, a Prince who was the first inhabitant in this construction. After this, the Franks invaded the region and took control of the Castle, becoming its inhabitants for several years. During that epoque, this castle was very famous in the region and was considered a very important spot by the Peloponnesians.
After being inhabited by the Frankish, the Chlemoutsi Castle was home of several other invaders, such as per example, the Turkish, and the Venetians. All these inhabitants and the variety of events the castle has gone through gave shape to the way it looks today, although it has maintained its original structure and most of its characteristics almost unchanged.
The Castle of Chlemoutsi is often shown as a clear example of Frankish architecture due to its structure and general appearance. This castle or fortress was built following typical Frankish guidelines and is one of the clearest examples of a construction of such style in the Peloponnese, a factor which often attracts architects from all over the world who approach in order to meet this structure and its peculiarities.
The Castle of Chlemoutsi shows two main areas. One of these areas, known as the inner enclosure, contains a chapel, a small residence, and a bigger residence where the Prince used to live. The other area, the outer enclosure, used to have several smaller rooms and buildings, such as per example a mosque. In general, this construction shows softly pointed arches with many halls and doors along with a variety of small rooms. Several of these rooms still maintain their original appearance, although visitors could only meet the ruins of some others which didn’t have the same luck.
