Lake Kaiafas

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Λίμνη Καϊάφα

Kaiafas Lake is a coastal lake in Elis in south-western Greece, stretching north of the town of Zacharo between the Lapithas Mountains and the Ionian Sea. It was probably formed after an earthquake struck the river Anigros, which flows nearby. The lake is home to an alga species, Chara corfuensis, and it lies close to the Ionian coast in a landscape of hills and sea.

How it formed

A pine forest of Aleppo pines separates the lake from a sandy beach about 3.5 km long. The springs, at 31–34 °C and rich in sulphur compounds, rise inside natural caves at the foot of Mount Lapithas, and the lake opens at the mouth of the cave.

History

This was the heart of the myth of the Anigrid nymphs, to whom people prayed and in whose waters they bathed to cure their ailments. In legend, Dardanus, ancestor of the Trojans, was born in the cave. Use of the springs revived after the founding of the modern Greek state, and the first facilities were built in 1907, after a railway linked the site with Patras. The thermal hotel Olympia stands on an islet in the lake.

Gallery

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Photo: Huskarl2000 · Public domain

Photo: Vasileios Spiliotopoulos · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Panosgti34 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Visit

Swimming

No reliable information

Tips

The state baths on the east shore have an outdoor thermal pool and individual tubs and are open in the warm months: in 2025, daily from 15 June to 20 October, 09:00–17:00. Check the dates and prices with the baths before you go (+30 2625 031705). The site is about 22 km from Olympia, some 25 minutes by car, and buses serve it; there is parking.

A walk along the lake goes well with a session in the baths, and the beach of Zacharo is close by for a swim. It is a Natura 2000 site, with cafés, restaurants and places to stay nearby. Local lore says Heracles washed his wounds here.