Peloponnese 🇬🇷 - Olympia, Kyllini and Wild Horses

Sven Walther

October 19, 2026

Olympia

Campsite life is over, we’re on our way again. We’d already spotted on the way in that ancient Olympia was very close, so that’s today’s destination. Amid all the tourist chaos, we manage to park the Mammothon “exactly where we’re supposed to”: in the bus parking area.

At the entrance, a sign greets us: no dogs allowed! No problem, we think, we have a backpack. So it’s back to the Mammothon, Lou goes into the backpack and we return to the ticket office. There we learn that dogs aren’t allowed on the site at all, not even in a backpack. So we go in one after the other and each do our own round.

The Temple of Zeus is truly impressive, just look at those columns! The ancient stadium, on the other hand, is surprisingly plain. Spectators simply sat on the grass back then, no grandstands.

Fallen column drums in the grass, a single upright column of the Temple of Zeus behind them — What remains of the Temple of Zeus

A stone archway forms a tunnel leading towards the stadium — The tunnel to the stadium

The long, flat track of the ancient stadium between grassy slopes — The stadium: no grandstands, just grass

Two tall columns of the Temple of Hera between trees — The Temple of Hera

The round columns of the Philippeion on a square under olive trees — The Philippeion

Interesting, sure, but far too touristy for our taste. Messene was definitely more impressive. Time to leave the crowds behind and head in the opposite direction!

Goura

We cross the Peloponnese through the mountains, climbing above 1,000 metres in places, until we find the perfect spot near Goura: wonderfully secluded, in the middle of a field on a high plateau. No crowds, no queues, no restrictions. Just us, the Mammothon and plenty of peace and quiet. Now this is more like it!

The Mammothon stands on a plateau, a mountain massif with snow behind it — Our pitch near Goura

Around Kyllini

The next day is all about off-roading, around Mount Kyllini. The gravel track is narrow in places and pretty badly washed out, winding its way around the summit. The peak reaches 2,374 metres, and although we don’t make it all the way up, the track takes us to over 1,700 metres. And guess what? There’s still a little snow up here, even at this time of year. Not exactly what we expected to find on the Peloponnese.

The Mammothon stands among fir trees, Lou beside it on the gravel — A break in the fir forest

Kyllini with a snow-covered peak behind wooded slopes — Kyllini with a little snow

A small stone chapel at the edge of a gravel road in front of bare mountains — A chapel by the track

A long high valley with dry grass and a track, the sun above the mountains — On the high plateau

The Mammothon stands on a gravel track, snow lying at the edge — Snow at the side of the track

Just before the highest point of our route, we park the Mammothon and continue on foot to Hermes Cave. Reaching the entrance is only half the adventure, of course we have to explore inside, too. Luckily, we remembered to bring our lights! It would have been seriously dark without them.

The narrow cave entrance between pale rocks, a yellow marker beside it — The entrance to Hermes Cave

Stalactites in the cave in the beam of a torch — Stalactites in the lamplight

Lou stands on rocks, mountains with snow behind her — Lou on the way back

A fantastic day in the Greek mountains, with a challenging track, unexpected snow and an impressive cave. Here’s a video of us driving on the high plateau:

A Pitch Among Wild Horses

We’ve crossed the highest point of our track and are now looking for a place to camp along an even smaller side trail. Naturally, the approach gets even tighter. One section is quite something: first a sharp 270° left-hand turn, then a part of the track that has broken away, followed immediately by a 90° right turn.

A narrow gravel track bends round a steep slope, the photographer's shadow in the foreground — The track before the tight spot

What could possibly go wrong? Well… things don’t go quite 100% to plan. The video shows that we were close to falling off: the rear right wheel left the gravel road. Good thing the Mammothon stayed up.

Eventually we make it to the spot we were aiming for, and it’s worth it. We’re parked all alone, surrounded by sheep, goats and, best of all, wild horses. The view across the mountains and valleys is priceless. No traffic, no noise, no crowds.

Aerial photo: the Mammothon stands alone on a mountain slope next to a track — The Mammothon all alone on the mountain

The Mammothon stands on a green meadow, Lou sitting on a rock in front of it — Lou guards the pitch

Several horses stand on a meadow next to the track between bushes — Visitors on the way

A brown horse stands among bushes on the slope, a valley in the background — A horse on the slope

Clouds fill the valley below the mountain, mountain ranges behind in the backlight — In the morning the clouds sit in the valley

Of course, we decide to stay for a few nights and soak up the solitude. Well, almost solitude: a shepherd drops by, and we also meet two other off-roaders who have somehow found the very same remote spot using the same tour guidebook as us. Still, the tricky drive is absolutely worth it. Sometimes the best views come with a few tight turns and a little off-road drama.