A few kilometers outside of Athens, our Travel Inspiration travels to the Saronic Gulf, is the volcano of Methana, which belongs to the volcanic arc of the southern Aegean, having intense volcanic activity between the period 276 to 239 BC.
According to a census conducted in 1987, the peninsula lists a total of thirty submarine and land craters, with the best known being that of Kammeni Chora.
The eruption of the volcano is placed after reports of well-known ancient historians in the years of the reign of Antigonus Gonatas (277-240 BC). In fact, Ovid mentions that the surrounding area was an extensive and fruit-rich plain, but the violent eruption covered forever a large part of it with huge volumes of lava and ash.
The village of Kammeni Chora, is built “next” to the famous crater, but without knowing the exact date of residence. The steep slope north of the settlement is covered with dark volumes of solidified lava, composing a landscape of rare beauty. The small all-white picturesque houses of the village with the tiled roofs, rest on the fertile ground, gazing daily at the fury of nature, but they look peacefully at the magic of the volcano and coexist with it.
Due to the uniqueness of the soil, many small caves were formed that were properly utilized by the inhabitants. During the winter months the caves let out hot air so the shepherds placed their livestock there, unlike in the summer when they remained cool and were used as a kind of natural refrigerator with makeshift doors.
The crater of the Poor Country has a depth of about 50m. and a diameter of 100m., while the upper height of its cone reaches 425m. The distance from the village is relatively short, only 30 minutes, as long as you follow the gentle path that is initially engraved in the lava and is located at the base of the hill. Then it becomes a little steep but the experience of the climb is really unique, as is the cool feeling that surrounds you reaching the heart of the now inactive crater.
Travel Inspiration
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