Visiting Ioannina’s Incredible Perama Cave
No visit to Ioannina is complete without a visit to the Perama Cave. I’ve visited a number of caves in Greece over the years. The Caves of Antiparos (several times), The Cave of Lakes in Kastria in the Peloponnese, the Dyros Caves also in the Peloponnese and the Dryopida Caves on Kythnos. Many years ago I had a very strange experience in the cave of Skalia on Kalymnos – but I’ll leave that story for another day! Needless to say, I do love a cave but as Perama Cave is the largest network of caverns in Greece I suspect it will be more of a challenge than the others.
Located in the belly of Goritsa Hill, on the northwestern shore of the lake, the Perama Cave sits just 4 kilometres from Ioannina town and is easily accessible by both public transport and by car.
One drizzly day, I set off attired in a waterproof coat – it was that fine rain – you know, the type that soaks you through! On the other side of the small park that houses the Clock Tower and the magnificent memorials to local heroes, there is an information kiosk. This is where buses numbers 8 and 16 to Perama stop. The buses run regularly (approximately every 25 minutes) and tickets cost 1.80€ per way.
Once at the stop in Perama, I crossed the road towards the bright red tourist train which operates during the season (but not today). Adjacent to this is the Anna Petroheilou Exhibition and Visitor Centre. Here visitors have the opportunity to watch a documentary entitled The World of Caves. The Perama Palaeontology Museum exhibits a collection of finds from excavations of the caves. This includes the fossilised bones, teeth and skull of the cave bear that lived in the area thousands of years ago. As well as an interesting collection of animal bones there you will also see fossils, minerals and semi-precious stones from all over the world.
I followed the street up towards the village, past several small hotels, domatia, tavernas and cafes. On the left is the Saint Charalampos Holy Orthodox Church. Just before the cave, I was intercepted by a shop owner who tried to entice me in to look at their wares – a lovely shop filled with silverware.
A set of steps led me up to a kiosk where I purchased a ticket for 8€. The next tour will begin at 11am. I’m a little early so there is a bit of time to kill but towards the hour, more people arrive. In all, 7 adults and 2 children are here for the tour.
The tour will take around 45 minutes and the trail we will follow is 1100 metres long. The cave covers an area of nearly 15,000 square metres which is more than two football pitches and has 19 large chambers. There are 600 steps both up and down with a variable height difference of 25 metres from the entrance to the exit. I convinced myself that if children as young as 5 make up part of the group, it couldn’t be that challenging. I may live to rue those words! The cave maintains a constant temperature of 18 degrees throughout the year and a humidity rate of 100%. Armed with that information, I prepared to head in.
Our guide Marianna introduces herself to us and leads us in. The cave is around 1.5 million years old and was formed by a river which carved multiple large chambers across three different levels. During WW2, the locals used parts of the cave to shelter from German air raids, though they didn’t enter beyond the outer caverns. In 1951 speleologist Ioannis Petrocheilos became aware of its existence and with his wife Anna, spent nearly a decade exploring the cave further. Not only did they discover huge chambers filled with unique formations, but they also identified a new species of dolichopod, a genus of cave cricket which was subsequently named after Ioannis. Another of their impressive finds was the bones and teeth of a cave bear, a particular species that is now extinct. Today, the wildlife in the cave consists mainly of spiders and bats.
I was surprised when we were told that photographs without flash WAS permitted. This wasn’t the case at the Kastoria Cave of Lakes. Not that I have ever been able to get good photographs in a cave with my phone camera but I was willing to give it a go.
Initially, we enter through a narrow corridor. “Mind your heads!” our Marianna calls ahead. Soon it opens out into the first of the five main halls. One thing to note is that the steps are wet and slippery, so good, sturdy footwear is highly recommended.
One of the most impressive stalagmites is the one known as ‘The Cross’. It started life as a stalagmite with a two-pronged tip formed by the drips of two stalactites. A small section of a stalactite broke off and landed in the groove of the stalagmite (what are the chances!). Deposits of calcium carbonate subsequently fused the two pieces together. It’s as if there had been an all-powerful intervention.
We reached a certain point along the way where Marianna told us that we were at the point of no return. She said if anyone had doubts about their ability to complete the rest of the tour, now was the last opportunity to turn back. The two kids and their parents were going to stay and so was I!
Throughout the tour, we passed through several cathedral-like chambers that were breathtaking. Do you know what else was breathtaking? The steps. I’m not going to lie, the humidity began to make the walk quite challenging. I started to discard pieces of clothing beginning with my waterproof jacket which was now clinging to me like a second skin. Further layers were removed until for dignity’s sake, I could remove no more. That made it a bit more bearable.
As we progressed through the various chambers and up and down sets of steps, stainless steel handrails slippery with cold condensation did assist for the most part. However, there were sections of steps that were ‘sans’ rail. Every so often Marianna would shout “Don’t touch the rocks!” but it was very difficult not to do so on some steep or uneven parts – that’s the vertigo kicking in again.
There are around 19 different types of stalactites and stalagmites in the Cave of Perama, whereas the average in other caves of this size are around 9 or 10. The various structures go by the descriptive names of flowstone, coralloids, bottlebrushes and parachute shields – to name a few. I have my own names for them such as Ood, the weird-looking creatures from Dr Who with worms for a face and nobbly twirly stick things and some names that were best kept in my head. There are several small lakes, one of which is known as the Lake with the Lilypads. It was like peering into a miniature village. The place where the remains of the bear were discovered was also pointed out.
Towards the end of the trail, we passed the stalagmite affectionately named St Nicholas. Can you see him?
Marianna told us to brace ourselves for the climb up to the exit – a mere 150 steps (or just short of). At the top, she offered a “Well done” to the children – and me!
After exiting the cave we were rewarded with magnificent views over the lake and the island. The rain had stopped and I took an enjoyable stroll back to the village. Adjacent to the information centre is a fabulous patisserie called To pétrino Artozacharoplasteío. I felt that I deserved a treat after the exertion and bought not one but two Trigona Panoramatos, custard-filled filo cones! Mmmmm I should challenge myself more often!
I can honestly say that these are the most impressive caves that I’ve visited to date. Yes, getting around it was at times challenging but it was worth the effort.
The Perama Caves are open daily including holidays from 0900am to 1700pm
