The area west of Tripoli is a tangle of medieval villages, remote monasteries, precipitous ravines and narrow roads that wind their way through the valleys of the Menalon Mountains. It is the heart of the Arkadia prefecture, and you’ll find it’s an area with some of the most breathtaking scenery in the Peloponnese. Today we will drive from Athens to Ancient Gortys which was among the most important Arcadian cities of the ancient world, known for its Temple of Asclepius. From there we will follow the path which unfolds in parallel with Lousios, a river with crystal clear waters that runs through an incredibly steep gorge towering up above us. On our way to Dimitsana, first we will meet the isolated monastery of Prodromos, which is built into the side of a rock and looks absolutely stunning. Then we will ascend to the Old Philosophou Monastery dating to 963 and then to the New Philosophou Monastery who was founded in a less restricting place in 1691. The path is finishing at Dimitsana, and just before entering the village we will do a stop to visit the Open-Air Water Power Museum, a thematic museum which highlights the importance of water-power in traditional society. Focusing on the main pre-industrial techniques that take advantage of water to produce a variety of goods, it links them to the history and daily life of the local society over the ages.