Explore Kefalonia’s culture and sights: Drogarati, Melissani, Assos

Kefalonia, apart from its natural beauties and enchanting beaches, offers a plethora of sights of touristic and historical, but of archaeological interest, as well.

Further below, we will try to guide you through some of the most important sights of Kefalonia that someone really deserves to visit.

Drogarati Cavern

Drogarati cavern is one of the greatest and most beautiful natural sights of Kefalonia. It is found in the Samis region and in a short distance away from the lake cavern of Melisani. It was discovered almost 300 years ago, when during a powerful earthquake, one part of it collapsed and another part of the cave was unveiled, which nowadays constitutes its entrance.

After going down the stairs, you will reach the entry of the cavern that will impress you with its great size and its orange shades. Special attention should be paid so that you do not strike your head to the stalactites. The cavern has exceptional acoustics and for this reason various concerts occasionally are scheduled to take place here.

The depth of the cavern is almost 60 meters, and according to the archaeologists, its age is beyond the 100 millions of years.

Melisani Lake Cavern

The underground lake of Melisani, is a cavern that was discovered in 1951 by the speleologist Yannis Petrohilo and it is found in Karavomilo, a little outside from Sami.

In ancient times, the lake was a place of adoration of Pana and Nymph Melisanthi. According to the myth, Melisanthi committed suicide in the lake due to her sorrow that Pana didn’t correspond to her love. The lake is found 20 m. under the surface of ground. Its length is almost 160 meters and the depth of its waters fluctuates from 10 m. to 40 m. The stalactites, having an age of 20.000 years and being in odd shapes, embellish the greater part of the cavern.

The visitor boards in boats that make the tour of the lake, having in this way the chance to admire the splendid colorations of the waters that change, while the sun sneaks from the roof, creating an imposing atmosphere.

The cavern of Melisani is the most well known cavern of Kefalonia and one of the most impressive ones in Greece.

Monastery of Saint Gerasimos

The monastery of Saint Gerasimos is found at the foot of Ainos, built on an old abbey dated from the 1200 A.D. (Crusades period), near the village Fragkata. The monastery is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and it has taken also the name “New Jerusalem” by the residents of the village Valsamaton.

The monastery and its surroundings were granted by the Priest Georgio Balsamo to the Saint Gerasimos, who had started living there since 1561.He passed away in 1579 and was nominated Saint by the Patriarchate in 1622.

His body is kept in a shrine. Inside the monastery there is an entrance to the cavern, “Skiti” in which the Saint lived ascetically and the visitor can have a tour in it.

Assos Castle & Fortress

The Assos Castle is built during the first years of Venetocracy in the peninsula of Assos, “Lady of North”, as the residents (Kefalonites) of Kefalonia were calling it.

The Assos Castel was the capital of the northern Kefalonia for many years, even if the long distances from the rest of the island didn’t create the prerequisites and those conditions for residential development. In our days, many parts of its fortification have been rescued, just like for instance, the Venetian barracks, the residence of a Venetian proveditor and the small church of Saint Markos.

Here, we need to point out the enchanting view that the visitor has the opportunity to admire from the street, before walking down towards the village, with the ultimate view of the incredible sunset.

In a small distance from the above-mentioned sights of Kefalonia, there are many rooms and apartments to rent that offer services of exceptional quality.