Pilos

(Local Name: Pylos) Altitude: 20m/65ft

Population: 2,100

The name of Pylos conjures up memories of the Mycenaean hero Nestor and the more recent naval battle of Navarino; but it also offers the attraction of one of the most beautiful spots in Greece, Navarino Bay.

Navarino Bay - the name is a corruption of the Byzantine name Ton Avarinon ("of the Avars" - referring to the Slav invaders of Greece) - is the only large natural harbor on the west coast of the Peloponnese. It is enclosed on the seaward side by the island of Sfaktiría, a huge rocky barrier 4.6 km/3 mi long rising to a height of 135m/443ft. The main entrance to the bay, at the south end, is wide, but is constricted by the islet of Pylos and a number of small reefs. The entrance at the north end is the strait of Sykia, only 100m/110yd wide and much silted up, which runs between Sfaktiría and the 250m/820ft high hill of Koryfásion, below which is the Osman Aga lagoon. The Mycenaean kingdom of Pylos was conquered by Neleus, and thereafter was ruled by his youngest son, Nestor. In 1939 Carl Blegen discovered at Epáno Englianós a site belonging to that period.

In the seventh-sixth century B.C. a Dorian settlement named Pylos was established on Mt Koryfásion, at the north end of the bay. In 425 B.C., during the Peloponnesian War, the town was occupied by the Athenians, who also captured the island of Sphakteria (Sfaktiría) and took its Spartan defenders prisoner.

In the A.D. 13th century a Crusading knight, Nicolas de Saint-Omer, built a castle here (Palaiókastro, the "Old Castle"), which was later successively held by Venetians and Turks. In 1573 the Turks built a new castle (Neókastro) on the hill of Áyios Nikólaos at the south end of the bay, and in 1825, during the war of Greek independence, Ibrahim Pasha made this his headquarters during his Peloponnesian campaign.

Buses from Kalamáta and Athens.