The 1953 Kefalonia Earthquake created the Melissani Caves skylight
When to visit Melissani Caves
The best time to get to Melissani lake is around 11:30am, just before the rush, and in time to see the waters turn a beautiful shade of turquoise as the sun shines straight through the skylight overhead at midday. Visiting the Melissani Caves costs 7 euros per adult, and is a half hour experience. However it’s well worth it, and the history is fascinating! If you go, make sure to ask how the water gets to the lake.
How to get into Melissani Caves
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| My brother and I on the boat |
In the shallow section of the lake you can see all of the stones and rubble from the earthquake below the water.
What is it like to visit Melissani Caves in Kefalonia?
As the boat took us round a corner and into the cave itself, everything became dark and eerie, and all I could think of was the film ‘The Cave’ with all those weird creatures that caused humans to become monsters. I had to remind myself that it was just a film, and got back to taking it all in.
Above us were stalactites pointing down, water dripping off them and onto us, cooling our hot backs. I was worried I would be claustrophobic down there, but actually it was completely fine, and really quite exciting!
On our way back out to the open-lake area, I just had to capture this shot, the rays of sun shining onto the lake with the boat sitting in the turquoise. Just breathtaking. I felt as though we were in another world.
Where to go nearby after visiting Melissani Caves
After visiting Melissani Cave we headed into Sami, which is a town about 2km from the cave. Sami was the town used in the filming of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, a film set in Kephalonia during WW2 that was based on a novel of the same name written by Louis de Bernieres. The film stars Nicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz, and they covered the entire town in facades to make it look like the capital, Argostoli.
There wasn’t really much to do in Sami, it’s just a little harbour town with some fishing boats and yachts. I was a little disappointed by it and found that Fiskardo was much prettier as a harbour town and there was much more to do and see there. I’ll publish a post about Fiskardo in a couple of days as it was completely gorgeous!
On our way back to our villa we stopped off at a monastery set high in the mountains. I don’t usually take photographs inside churches and monasteries, but scroll down and take a look at the breathtakingly beautiful artwork inside….
Everywhere we went on the sides of the roads were these religious monuments? We still have no idea what they are or why they’re on the sides of the roads, if anyone knows, we’d love to know!
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
The religious monuments are for memorials for someone who died there. In most, there is a candle burning at all times to keep their memory 'alive,' usually alongside some religious pictures, pictures of the victims etc. The family will visit daily to clean, maintain it, and keep the candle going.
Kefalonia is a beautiful island, I love it! I've been twice! 🙂
Heres my little post from my visit last year if you're interested!
http://www.fridayisforeverblog.com/2012/08/kefalonia-greece-few-holiday-snaps.html
Also, is that the monastery where you can go in the underground bit? Freaked me out so much…
Thanks so much for the info!! We thought they were memorials but weren't sure.
It really is stunning, and so unspoilt! Had a look at your post – gorgeous photos!
Yes, although I didn't do the underground thing as I get really claustrophobic and that gap to get down was reeeeallly small lol!
C x
wow what a beautiful trip!
That first photo is breathtaking xo
There is no doubt that the Melissani Caves, Kefalonia looks really beautiful. Its really great to have fun around that surely. Would love to plan my next vacations around it after free from the Vacation packages and deals from los angeles surely with family.
Melissani Caves, Kefalonia is s great and seems really best to have great fun. Would love to plan my vacations at there after niagara falls tour from boston with family.
I have never been explored this place. But the shared images and information develop my craze to explore this place. so I will explore it.
I like to see all these photos and will like to be there personally as I will be free from my niagara falls tours from boston.