Kyparissi is a secluded paradise backed by the craggy slopes of Mount Parnon and fronted by the cobalt blue of the Myrtoan Sea. Home to about 400 people, it is tucked away on the east coast of the Peloponnese—between Leonidio and Monemvasia—at the end of a scenic mountain road.

The time by car from Athens is about 5 hours. Until 1970, Kyparissi was only accessible by sea or on foot by walking down a long, steep mountain path. Then, the road connecting it to Sparta was completed. And what a road… the last 10km of the drive down to the village are enough to intimidate even those of us used to verticality! As it meanders down through steep cliffs and lush ravines, the road is enormously scenic, but also quite dizzying.

Leaving behind the village of Harakas, as one reaches Stavros, an awe-inspiring vista opens up, as if the Parnon mountain range has been cut with a huge knife, forming a cliff face that drops down into the Myrtoon Sea.