(300 23) Ampelakiotissa - Unnamed Road

The villages of Kravara date back to the start of the Ottoman Empire. They are spectacularly set on the bosom of surrounding mountains with forested slopes. There are 15 inland each with a population of about 100 in the summer, and 25 in the winter. But the welcome taverna is always open. The jewel is Ambelakiotissa, but it is also the most difficult to get to. The roads are testing in the finest of weathers. From the north, Perdikovryski, about 10 km is unsealed, and steep in places. Motorhomes won’t get here, from the south also. This situation is the village parking at the back of the church and the taverna. It is signposted. Just a km up the hill is the monastery, founded in 1458. It has some of the most impressive relics in Roumeli, including an icon of the Virgin Mary from the 18th century, at St Polycarp’s arm, mummified and embossed in gold, from the year 155.