If you haven’t heard of it before, now you’ll get to know it, visit it and are bound to love it. Vamvakou, a small village in the west side of mount Parnonas, northeast of Sparta, is the best proof that where there are people with persistence, love and passion, then a half-forgotten mountainous village – with no more than a handful of residents – can turn into a must alternative tourist destination in the Peloponnese.
The period when time was running out for Vamvakou, with the few residents, the sealed or half-destroyed stone-built houses, and the abandoned look – similar to many villages in the Greek countryside – seems to have passed. The recent opening of the traditional guesthouse “Rouga tis Vamvakous”, that adds another brick to the wall of the successful outcome of the ambitious project of a group of young people – from the village – and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) to bring life back to Vamvakou, is proof of that. It’s a difficult challenge but not impossible.
“Vamvakou Revival”
This ambitious project is called “Vamvakou Revival” and is being carried out since 2018 by the social cooperative enterprise of the same name, founded by five friends, four of them from Vamvakou, who share vivid memories from their childhood when they spent their holidays at the village, and who decided to take up this “life challenge”. A challenge to revive the beloved village of their grandfathers, creating the conditions that would allow young people – whether they are from Vamvakou or not – to relocate permanently there.
The idea of Haris, Anargiros, Tasos, Panagiotis and Eleni – who might not be from Vamvakou but who has a special place for it in her heart – became a plan: “Vamvakou Revival”, that was later warmly supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.
It was 2016 when the five youths met with the president of the SNF, Andreas Dracopoulos, to present to him their plan to revive their grandfathers’ village and show him how the village could turn a page, and at the same time become a successful example for other areas in the country.
For SNF, supporting this project was important also on a symbolic level, since Vamvakou is the village of the late shipowner and businessman Stavros Niarchos, who – in memory of his father Spyros – had brought electricity to the village. The village continued to receive multifaceted support from the SNF in the following years, with infrastructure works, municipal funding, the restoration of the historic centre, renovations of public buildings etc.
So, in 2018, and after they founded the social cooperative enterprise “Vamvakou Revival”, and always in collaboration with SNF, they started forming a plan for the village’s sustainable development, in order to attract new visitors through the implementation of multifaceted actions, and also through the operation of hospitality units and through activities that will contribute to the creation of new permanent jobs in the village. The business plan that is now being implemented, stipulates for the operation of a guesthouse, a restaurant, a café, the conversion of old houses into tourist lodgings etc. In essence, it stipulates the creation of basic infrastructures that will create new job openings and will allow young people to relocate to the village.
From 2018 till this day, “Vamvakou Revival” has carried through a series of successful and varied events and actions that have brought many visitors to the village, bringing life back to the village’s streets. It’s estimated that more than 10.000 visitors have been to Vamvakou during this period.
A defining moment for the village was when six young musicians of the Greek National Opera decided to live in the village for five months creating the group “Mount Ensemble”.
Activities in nature and at the V.Lab
Built at an altitude of 900 m, surrounded by a beautiful natural environment near fir and black pine forests on the mountainous mass of Parnonas, the village is an ideal base for easy climbing routes on the tops of Megali Tourla mountain (1935 m.) and Gaitanorachi (1803 m.) from where you can even see Athens when the atmosphere is clear.
In this context,”Vamvakou Revival” organises alternative tourist activities in the rich nature of the area, and on the marked paths of Parnonas, like hiking, mountain biking (they rent out electric bikes with assistance HAIBIKE), minibus or 4×4 tours around the forest etc.
At the same time, the old primary school was turned into a modern and innovative tech centre funded exclusively by SNF, the V.Lab (Vamvakou Technology Lab fully powered by SNF) that offers creative and educational activities for the young visitors of Vamvakou and also organises events for children of the wider Laconia area. To this day, V.Lab has implemented 90 scientific and technological programmes with over 1.000 participants.
The renovated spaces of the school also house a lending library, and host cultural activities, speeches, talks, seminars, film screenings, plays, concerts etc. Essentially, it’s a small cultural centre.
“I Rouga tis Vamvakous” and Digital Mobilities
The next goal was to create permanent hospitality units. So, after the café-restaurant “Voureiko”, the traditional guesthouse “I Rouga tis Vamvakous” that is housed in three old traditional stone-built residences that have been restored opened its doors and breathed new life into one of the village’s neighbourhoods.
The three buildings housing guesthouse are traditional houses with large windows, overlooking the forest, with fireplaces or wood burning stoves, hand-built wooden furniture, ‘hayatis’ (traditional covered mezzanines), large gardens with flowers and trees, that resemble the old neighbourhoods in the Greek countryside. The guesthouse has six unique rooms, that are the perfect refuge from the intense pace of city life.
One of the next goals is the creation of an agricultural cooperative with farmers and producers from the wider area, since the project does not just aim at making the village an alternative tourism destination, but to revive the old crops. The area’s fertile land is ideal for chestnuts, nuts, potatoes and herbs.
At the same time, the people of Vamvakou are trying to make the village an ideal destination for “Digital Nomads” and remote workers, from anywhere in the world. Whether they are employees or self-employed. The infrastructure is there, the internet speed is almost 50 Mbps and the school can also work as a co-working space, since it has computers, printers etc.
Vamvakou on the map
Vamvakou is less than 2.5 hours away from Athens (203 km). The village maintains a very traditional atmosphere. On the main square, with the perennial plane trees, the church that is dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, to Agios Charalampos and to Agia Paraskevi, stands out. The statue of Theodoritos of Vresthena and the busts of Spyros and Stavros Niarchos stand in its courtyard.
In the main square you’ll find the café-restaurant “Voureiko” that will satisfy every craving for authentic Greek and Mediterranean flavours.
At the traditional guesthouse “I Rouga tis Vamvakous” that opened recently, each room has the name of a woman from Vamvakou (e.g., Marigo, Vgena, Stamo, Tsevoula, Annio, Potoula) thus keeping the links to the past alive and adding a nostalgic touch.
In a beautiful stone-built building in the central square, there is also the traditional coffee shop “O Parnonas” where you can have coffee or dessert under the plane trees.
“Vamvakou Revival”, in collaboration with and with the support of SNF, has organised a series of activities for young and old, for which it’s worth heading to Parnonas, throughout November. You can find more details on the pagevamvakourevival.org/eventswhere each activity has its own page (Mountain activities, Kid & family activities, Cultural events, V.Lab, Speeches / Seminars, Exhibitions. Sports activities, Gastronomy).
The stone built Vamvakou, apart from being a successful revival example, is also a meeting point for those in search of laid-back escapes in one of the most beautiful and most alternative destinations of the Peloponnese, seeking carefree moments of relaxation, in a creative and fresh environment, where many of us would like to live, work and create. Get to know it and you’re bound to love it.
