The Kyklopas cave is found near Astakos, where supposedly Odysseus blinded the Cyclops who became very angry and threw huge boulders to the sea below on Odysseus' escaping ship. These boulders can still be seen in the fields below the cave.
You’ll think you entered a fairy world when you explore this cave. Stalactites and stalagmites decorate every surface and sculpt the walls in beautiful patterns.
Situated at the peak of the island’s tallest mountain, this cave isn’t usually found on most tourist maps and as a result is rarely explored. Mycenaean artifacts were unearthed here, and the cave is a favorite shelter for local wildlife.
According to mythology, the goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite bathed in a sea cave to the left along the coast from Lychnos Beach. It’s only accessible by boat and inquisitive spelunkers can swim inside once they’ve arrived.
There are many caves to explore in this district, including one of the most famous in Greece. Psychro cave (also known as the Diktaeon Andron Cave), can be found just above the Lasithi plateau, and is steeped in mythological importance, for this is the place where the great god Zeus was supposed to have been born.
Just north of the village of Agios Georgios in the north-eastern section of the prefecture, lays this fascinating cave. Located within the Louros river valley and close to the Palaeolithic site of Kokkinopylos, this cave has shed new light on the pre-historic settlement of the region. Within the cave, researchers discovered a wide range of artefacts, of which their estimations place from 40,000 – 3,000 years BC. The different layers of the cave reveal that it was indeed inhabited over several millennia, starting from the Middle Palaeolithic period, through the New Palaeolithic period, down into the Bronze Age. Stone tools, animal bones and a large rhinoceros tooth were among some of the objects found. Researchers suggest that the cave was used as an outpost from where pre-historic man could hunt large herds of animals that gathered at the Louros River. Evidence of fire has been found along the walls and ceilings of the cave that suggest they stayed in the cave for significant periods of time. The cave lies along the Preveza-Ioannina road and is signposted. Parking is to the left while the cave itself off to the right. Visitors will need to walk about 200 meters along a crude path to reach the cave.
Approximately a ten minute walk from Gouverneto Monastery in Akrotiri is Arkoudospilios Cave. A footpath through the Avlaki Gorge is easily followed. Once a small temple dedicated to the Goddess Artemis which was used for worship in Antiquity, this cave boast an impressive stalagmite that resembles a crouching bear and of course has an old fable to accompany it.
This beautiful cave is inaccessible during the winter months as the ravine within which it remains artfully hidden fills with water. Located at the entrance of the cave is the chapel dedicated to St. Sophia. The oldest archaeological remains of the island were found in this cave and date back to 6000 BC. Make sure you bring a flashlight when exploring and be careful, the ground is very slippery.
Markos Botsari was the leader of the Souliote uprising throughout Epirus which targeted Turkish armaments in the region.Legend has it that the small cave in the neighbourhood of Pouliana within the village of Gorgomilo was used by Botsari as a base from which he and his men conducted raids.
Next to the vestiges of Katholiko monastery is the cave of Saint John the Hermit. On the outside it looks like the entrance of a simple chapel but the cave itself (once the bed of an underground river) is OVER 100 meters long and about 1,500 m2. Visitors can admire the rock where the saint purportedly took his last breath; it is rumoured to have healing effects.