Cog railway

The Diakofto – Kalavryta rail line or Cog railway as it is better known, is very much like the toy train of your childhood: an amazing adventurous experience that will take downhill from Helmos and its 750m altitude. This alluring experience comes together with dark tunnels and wild natural scenery. Your charming companion is none other than a raging river… Get your ticket and get on board!

The “magical” train, starting from Diakofto and ending in Kalavryta, is one of a kind in the entire world. It was manufactured 120 years ago and since that first time when its heavy sound was heard many things have changed. Its course, though, remained the same. It was a difficult and particularly costly project in its time. It took 5 years of uninterrupted work and the huge amount of 3.5 million drachmas. Neither the inaccessible “route” it had to run, nor the high altitude was able to hinder the course it had already set. The Kalavryta Cog railway is the most mountainous railway in Greece. In March 1896, the project was delivered to the residents of Aegialia and since then, it transports thousands of passengers every year.

From the very start, the project was implemented with respect for the natural environment and was integrated into the landscape, as if it had always been there. Like a work of nature, promising a unique one-hour trip, a special proposal, an unforgettable experience. During your trip, you will travel over 49 bridges and under imposing rocks. You will watch the wonderful interplay of flora and fauna. You will admire the waterfalls. You will cross tunnels and penetrate into caves. Your eyes will feast on its wonderful nature and fill your soul with joy.

With a firm grip on the rocks, it penetrates the mountains to cross the Vouraikos Gorge. Dexterously balancing on its tracks, the train runs a distance of 22 kilometres at a speed of 30 to 40 km per hour, on the simple track and of 6 to 15 km per hour on the toothed track.  The departure station is Diakofto. Halfway through the trip, after 12 km, the train stops at the village Kato Zachlorou before it reaches Kalavryta. The route is beautifully organised. Mountains succeed the plains that are full of olive and lemon trees. You have now reached Niamata. Then tunnels succeed one another, as the altitude rises. You will then play the role of witness in a “Dikastirio” (Greek for Courthouse). This is the name of the cave you will cross, with its beautiful stalagmites forming human-like figures that look exactly like people sitting in a courtroom. Up next is Triklies, revealing a scenery of lush vegetation and waterfalls.