The roads of the South: five routes below the Isthmus worth a full tank

When we mapped the roads of the North, the most common message we got was from southerners: "nice, but what about those of us below the Isthmus?" Fair point. And the truth is the South doesn't just have equivalents - it may well have the best road in the country. Let's go.

1. Langada Pass, Mount Taygetos (Kalamata - Sparti) - the king

If Greece had one monument of a road, this would be it. The route that splits Taygetos in two, through the Langada gorge: back-to-back corners, rock walls, and scenery changes you can't quite keep up with - olive groves, fir trees, bare stone, all within an hour. It isn't a fast road and doesn't want to be. It's a road that demands concentration: narrow in places, blind, with views that dare you to take your eyes off the tarmac - don't, that's what the pull-offs are for. Coffee in Artemisia, or all the way down to Sparti with Taygetos in the mirror.

2. Arachova - Eptalofos (Parnassos) - the winter road

Athens' most famous 'nearby' mountain road, for good reason: wide, clean corners, good tarmac, and the stretch from Arachova towards Eptalofos through the fir forest is one of the most beautiful ten minutes of driving in the country. Its problem: everyone knows it. On a winter weekend it's a procession towards the ski resort. The trick is timing - a Sunday morning out of season, or a weekday afternoon, and the road empties out and you remember why it was loved so much in the first place.

3. Trikala Korinthias - Zireia - the hidden plateau

An hour from Athens (in theory - an hour and a half in practice, we know) and you're on another planet: the climb from Trikala Korinthias to the Zireia plateau is tight, technical, with hairpins that feel like a miniature Kaimaktsalan. And then, the plateau at 1,500 metres: a flat stretch inside the mountains, like a circuit God forgot about. Spring and autumn are magic. Coffee in Ano Trikala, in the stone-paved square.

4. Astros - Kosmas (Mount Parnonas) - the unknown one

Parnonas is the mountain everyone forgets, and thankfully so. The route from Astros to Kosmas climbs through ravines and plane trees on a road you'll have almost entirely to yourself - the most likely 'traffic jam' is a herd of goats. Kosmas, at 1,150 metres under centuries-old plane trees, is one of the most beautiful mountain villages in the Peloponnese. A plate of the day's special in the square, then descend the other side towards Leonidio - where a Dolomites-like backdrop with Greek number plates awaits.

5. Karpenisi - Prousos - the Switzerland of Roumeli

Technically it's Central Greece, spiritually it's our South. The road from Karpenisi to Prousos runs through the Kleisoura narrows - stretches carved into the rock, cliff on one side, stone on the other. Demanding to drive, overwhelming to look at. Evrytania as a whole is the closest thing we have to the Alps without a passport - and in autumn, when the colours come alive, it's worth the trip from anywhere.

Our rules

Same as always, and the South is no exception: start early, fill up before the mountain, and the road is not a race track - the limit is the blind spot of the next corner. On the Langada especially, respect: it's narrow, it has traffic, and its beauty demands a low speed anyway. Which southern road did we miss? The series continues - and the next route might be the one you send us. Maps: groundspeed · route data © OpenStreetMap contributors.