Kalavryta is one of the few places in Greece where you can enjoy a view from the mighty mountaintops over a gorge as beautiful as Vouraikos, without having to risk life and limb clinging to a climbing rope. And this is thanks to the rack railway, a small train on cogs that sets off from the seaside town of Diakofto in the northern Peloponnese, makes a stop at the verdant village of Kato Zachlorou and at the impressive Mega Spilaio (Big Cave) monastery, to end an hour later, 22k further along the track and 700m up in the historical town of Kalavryta.

Make sure to get your tickets a day or two beforehand – this excursion is a favorite with weekenders and families – put a new memory card in your camera and, if you enjoy outdoor adventures, pack a backpack of snacks and drinks, and put on your hiking boots, because the best way to enjoy the area’s natural beauty is to ascend by train and descend on foot. The trail back down the mountain is not sign-posted but it is part of the E4 European Trails Network. With a little care in railway tunnels and on narrow bridges – no accidents have ever been recorded and the train drivers always give a good long toot of the horn at the trickier spots – the descent should take roughly 6 hours.

Nature has also done more than its part to enhance the journey, offering passengers spectacular rock formations, waterfalls and imposing cliffs. You will pass by nature’s court, Dikastiria, a cave with stalagmites and stalactites that looks like a courtroom, complete with judge and the accused. The most famous and photographed spot on the rote is Portes, a stretch that got its name from the huge metallic gates at the entrance to the old tunnel. These used to open and close so that locals would have to pay a toll fee to cross. Today they are always left open and it is definitely worth taking a few snapshots of the narrowest pass in the Vouraikos Gorge, a spectacle which, according to legend, was formed when Heracles cut through the rock with his sword so he could pass with the Erymanthian Boar under his arm and deliver it to Eurystheus to complete his fourth labor.

Shortly after you will come to the picturesque village of Kato Zachlorou, which has a few small café-tavernas that transport you to a time when there were no roads in the area and the train was the only means of transportation. Pilgrims wanting to reach the Mega Spilaio Monastery would have to make the climb on donkeys, while the tavern-hotel Romanzo has been the setting for several Greek bucolic films, most notably “The Shepherdess’s Sweetheart,” today the absolute cult film of Greek cinema history.

You can take snaps outside the picturesque Mega Spilaio station, enjoy a coffee or a meal beside the tracks, walk along the iron bridge that passes above the gorge or take the trail on the left of the station (marked with blue triangles) and make your way on foot for about 2 kilometers to the monastery.