Moni Panagia Giatrissa - Moni Panagia Giatrissa

Fantastic spiritual location with amazing views.

Holy place with superb view!

Average monastery, pretty new.

Beautifully situated monastery on the crest of Taoligetos overlooking both the Gulf of Messina and the Gulf of Laconia.

Beautiful experience, beautiful monastary.

The view from this place is unbelievable! It feels like you are in the top of the world and you can see the view of both sides of the mountain towards Githio and Kardamili. Breathtaking experience, totally recommend it! Picturesque villages on the way to the monastery from Githio. The road from Githio is not the best but it is ok for a mountain road, narrow but all the road is asphalt). The road from the other side(Stoupa or Kardamili) isn't recommended since from tbe village Milia until the monastery is pretty bad, not asphalt and maybe requires a jeep.

A Wonderful Excursion! But go INSIDE to really appreciate this site! If you are in the area near Kalamata (Messinia), or Gythio (Laconia), or Aeropoli and the Caves of Diros (Mani), then an evening trip to this site to view the sunset (or a morning trip for the sunrise) is a wonderful excursion! The views are fantastic, and you will pass through villages that take you back in time (even as they are rapidly modernizing). One reviewer spoke ignorantly about the philanthropist who made the renovation of this site possible. Before the renovation, this site was a disgrace: featuring an ill kept chapel with trash heaps and goat dung encroaching on its doorstep. He (Vageli Arfanis whose family is from the village of Kastania, just below) donated a huge percentage of his net worth and many hundreds of hours of personal time to enable the renovation. This philanthropist suffered a terrible tragedy in the untimely death of his only daughter, shortly after she gave birth to twins. His work to renovate the monastery began before her death, but he dedicated the amazing courtyard to her memory. There is a plaque in her honor by its entrance (see photos). It records her name “Aryiris Arfani-Debono,” who according to a friend “shone sunlight with her smile,” in Greek: Γελουσε Φως. An artist designed the plaque in her memory emphasizing this theme. Some have commented negatively on the exterior styling of this site. Yes, from below it reminds one of a fortress more than a monastery; it is not dainty. But go inside and explore within the walls, and you will be find much elegance of design, breathtaking parapet walkways, and surprisingly subtle quiet corners and internal garden spots. Then there is the church itself, which is also not much to look out from the outside, but inside it is rather beautiful, impeccably maintained, and filled with ornate iconography. The site is usually almost devoid of people - and very quiet. Little does one realize that each year, on September 8th, the monastery’s feast day, the site overflows with visitors. The crowds begin arriving the evening before, taking buses, cars and hundreds simply walking through the night to arrive for the services and festivities. The monastery is now better able to accommodate (to the degree that it can!) the mass of humanity that descends upon it each year. This is the not the most ancient of monasteries, nor the most remote, nor the largest or most impressive. It is however beautiful and awe inspiring in its own unique way. BTW: A better transliteration of the name of this monastery is "Moni Panayia Yiatrissa." The G’s (which in Greek are gammas,) actually make a Y sound. The Greek word “Panayia” is a title for Jesus’ mother, Mary. It literally means “All Holy.” So in English, we’d call this place something like "the Monastery of the Virgin-Mother Healer," or more literally, “the Monastery of the All Holy (Mother Mary) Healer."

One of the most Holy places in Greece. The grounds are protected by fortified walls they feature breathtaking views. The church is on a peak that provides 360 degree views of Gythion and Kalamata. The E4 trail will lead you straight to the church if you are up to a hike