Avgou Monastery – Built in the rock, away from civilization

Argolida and Porto Heli don’t have only large and impressive archeological sites that can justify a full day trip. They also have many smaller places and landscapes that wait to be discovered, especially if your schedule is full and your time limited. If you’re ever at the AKS Conference Centre for one of its functions, nothing will prevent you from making the best of the little free time you have and taking a short trip to an amazing place, where an ancient monastery can be found.

The Avgou Monastery is one of the gems of Argolida. It was built in the rock centuries ago and now stands proud and alone between the cliff and the torrent, the forest and the clean air of the countryside. The Avgo Mountain and the Rados river (or, otherwise, Sellas torrent) host a monastery that is now a part of the landscape, inextricably linked to the nature in the area.

It might be very close to Porto Heli – it won’t take long at all to get there – but it’s not close to the main roads and you may not even encounter signs pointing you to the monastery, if you’re just going from one town to the next. You have to get in between the mountains of Argolida. Luckily the roads are very good for the most part and just at the end of the route they’re a bit worse.

Don’t expect to attend mass at Avgoy Monastery. The convent, that has been standing in its place for about a thousand years, since its construction is estimaded around the eleventh century, that is in the Byzantine years, is not without monks or nuns. Of course, if you’re lucky, you may go to the monastery during the few days of the year when ceremonies are indeed held. Besides, this shows that the place is not abandoned and is one more valuable sight of the area.

You’ll go to Avgou Monastery mainly to see this marriage of human intervention and nature, which can be found like this mainly in the monasteries of Greece. Argolida has other beautiful monasteries as well, like the Aghioi Anargyroi Monastery in Ermioni, but the Avgou Monastery has something unique that can’t be found anywhere else.

The Avgoy Monastery may not be so famous as Mycenae or Epidaurus, but it can definitely satisfy different needs that the visitor of Porto Heli and Argolida might have. So, if you ever find yourselves in our part of the world, whether it is for a conference or on vacation, make sure to include the Avgou Monastery in your trip.

AKS Conference Centre Argolis – Peloponnese