The revelation
We carefully steer the car over the narrow road that descends in hairpin bends into the Lousios valley. The slopes of the valley are dense with impenetrable trees and bushes. After seven kilometres, there is a turnoff to a little church. It stands on the edge where the valley turns into a gorge. Even closer to the edge, behind the little church, is a viewpoint. There, on a rock outcrop, you have a magnificent view over the gorge. On the horizon lies Dimitsána on a hilltop. Closer by, the church at the Prodromos Monastery is clearly visible. The old monastery itself is well hidden against the gorge wall.
A hiking trail leads to the Prodromos Monastery. It is a short but serious walk. In a few turns, the path winds down and then continues over a ledge against the gorge wall. By the looks of it, the monks do have electricity, as a power cable runs over the rock face along the path.
Out of nowhere, the Prodromos Monastery suddenly appears. It hangs above the hiking trail, halfway up the vertical gorge wall. Overwhelmed by this revelation, a curse word escapes me. Wow! What an incredible place this is.
Between heaven and earth
The entrance gate to the Prodromos Monastery is closed. According to the sign next to it, it is closed in the afternoons. So I just stroll around on the surrounding grounds. There is a perfectly serene atmosphere. There are a few small barns and a strip of land where vegetables are grown. Chickens scratch around next to a dilapidated barn and a donkey stands in the shade of an old olive tree. Two kittens are playing, not far from the mother cat.
It is easy to understand why the monks once started a monastery here. It is a blissfully secluded place to devote yourself in peace to faith. The natural niche in the rocks is an obvious place to construct the monastery building. Hovering between heaven and earth.
Practical information
Getting there
You can best use a navigation device to get to the location of the Prodromos Monastery. It is halfway down a secondary road that you would normally never take. There are nevertheless good signposts at the turn-off from the main road. From Stemnitsa, the road to Prodromos Monastery is in good condition. Between the monastery and Elliniko, the asphalt is damaged and full of nasty holes.
Hiking map
It is about a 700-metre walk from the car park to Prodromos Monastery. The route is self-explanatory, a hiking map is not needed.
Opening hours
The Prodromos Monastery is closed between 13:00 and 17:00. You can then still walk there and view the monastery from the outside, but you cannot go inside.
Historical background
There is hardly any information on the Internet about the history of the Prodromos Monastery. The most informative is an article on Wikipedia, in Dutch.
An article on the website Elliniko Gortynias looks promising. Headline and photos are correct, but the entire text appears to be about the nearby Philosophos Monastery. In all available languages.
Furthermore, there is name confusion with other monasteries in Greece for John the Baptist. There is for example a namesake further east on the Peloponnese and the English Wikipedia leads to a monastery of the same name in the northeast of Greece.
