Our first major stop is the dramatic mountain pass of Dervenakia. Our expert military advisors will analyse the engagement and will walk you to the key heights at Dervenakia, Ayios Sostis and Ayionori, all forming part of the wider Battle of Dervenakia fought over three days 26-28 July 1822, a masterful series of brilliant ambushes executed by Theodoros Kolokotronis, trapping and destroying a powerful Ottoman force under Dramali Pasha. One of the most important victories of the Greek War of Independence.

At Stefani and Ayionori Castle, the network of fortified positions and mountain strongholds reveals the defensive system that protected the heart of the Peloponnese. These sites illustrate how mobility, intelligence and intimate knowledge of the landscape allowed the smaller Greek revolutionary forces to ambush and defeat the larger, conventionally organised Ottoman army.

Myli Beach

Our next stop is at the beautiful seaside village of Myloi, where in 1825 Greek forces halted Ibrahim Pasha’s advance.

Ktima Bairaktaris

From battlefields to vineyards, we then travel to the renowned wine region of Nemea, visiting the world-famous Bairaktari Winery. Here, amid rolling vineyards and fertile valleys, we enjoy lunch and a guided wine tasting of local varieties, including the celebrated Agiorgitiko grape, as we hear about the legend of Hercules slaying Nemea’s lion.

We begin the day with a boat ride across the calm waters of Navarino Bay to Sphacteria, the long, narrow and uninhabited island guarding the entrance to the harbour. We hike to the highest point of the island, we shift back nearly two and a half millennia to one of the most shocking episodes of the Peloponnesian War. Here, in 425 BC, a force of Spartan hoplites became isolated on the island after Athenian naval manoeuvres trapped them. After a tense siege and relentless skirmishing across the rocky slopes of Sphacteria, the unthinkable occurred: surrounded, exhausted and cut off from relief, the Spartan hoplites surrendered. It was the only known occasion in history where a Spartan hoplite force laid down its arms in battle. You will walk the very ground where this happened. From the crest of the hillside, the panoramic view is absolutely breathtaking, stretching across the entire bay of Navarino and beyond. On our way back we visit the various monuments across the Navarino Bay.

Pylos

Returning to Pylos, overlooking the bay, we conduct a detailed battlefield analysis of one of the most consequential naval engagements of the 19th century: the Battle of Navarino. In October 1827, the combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia entered the bay in a tense standoff that rapidly escalated into full-scale combat. Within hours, the bay became an inferno of cannon fire and shattered masts. By the end of the day, the Ottoman – Egyptian fleet was destroyed and the survival of the Greek War of Independence effectively secured.