Aroania (), also known as Helmos or Chelmos (Χελμός, from South Slavic , "summit"), is a mountain in

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek language, Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaḯa'', ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwest ...

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. At 2,355 m elevation, Aroania is the third highest mountain of the Peloponnese, after

Taygetus The Taygetus, Taugetus, Taygetos or Taÿgetus () is a mountain range on the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. The highest mountain of the range is Mount Taygetus, also known as "Profitis Ilias", or "Prophet Elias" (Elijah). The name is o ...

and Kyllini, and the highest in Achaea. The largest town near the mountain is

Kalavryta Kalavryta () is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, Greece. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of Aigio, southeast of Patras and northwest of Tripoli, G ...

. The municipal unit

Aroania Aroania () (also known as "Sopoto") is a village and a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Kalavryta, of which it is ...

took its name from the mountain.

Geography

Aroania is situated in southeastern Achaea, near the border with

Corinthia Corinthia (; ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese. It is situated around the city of Corinth, in the north-eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Ge ...

. The slightly higher Kyllini mountain is about 15 km to its east, separated from Aroania by the valley of the river

Olvios The Olvios () is a river that flows in western Corinthia in the northern Peloponnese in Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land ...

. The mountain Erymanthos is about 30 km to the west, across the valley of the river Vouraikos. The rivers Krios,

Krathis The Krathis (, ) is a river in the eastern part of Achaea, southern Greece. The river flows through the municipal unit of Akrata. It is long. Geography The river's course is from the south to the north. It begins in the northern part of the Chel ...

and Vouraikos drain the mountain towards the

Gulf of Corinth The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf (, ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and ...

in the north. The river Aroanios drains the mountain towards the southwest, to the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

. The mountain is the site of the Aristarchos telescope and of a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area–a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In North Am ...

. Points of interest on the mountain include the Cave of the Lakes ( Spilaio ton Limnon), the monastery of

Mega Spilaio Mega Spilaio (), formally the Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos (Ιερά Μονή Κοιμήσεως της Θεοτόκου), is a Greek Orthodox monastery in the municipality of Kalavryta, in the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Gree ...

and the mountain town

. Mountain villages on the mountain are

Planitero Planitero (Greek: Πλανητέρο) is a mountain village in the municipal unit of Kleitoria, Achaea, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsul ...

and

Peristera Peristera (, feminine form of pigeon), also Aspro, locally Xero (meaning dry), Eudemia in antiquity, is a Greece, Greek island in the Sporades, in the Aegean Sea. It is administratively part of the municipality of Alonnisos and is also directly ...

. There are several protected areas on Aroania. A list of the highest peaks of Mount Aroania: *Psili Koryfi, 2355 m *Neraidorachi, 2341 m *Aetorachi, 2335 m *Kokkinovrachos, 2315 m *Gardii, 2182 m *Avgo, 2138 m *Nisi, 2080 m

Flora and fauna

The parts of Aroania between 800 m and 1,800 m elevation are covered with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forests. The higher areas consist of grasslands and barren rock. Aroania is rich in butterfly species, including the Chelmos blue ('' Agrodiaetus iphigenia'') which is found between 1,100 m and 1,800 m.

References

External links

Greek Mountain FloraKalavryta Ski Resort Ski Resort Guide
*in Greek:
Photos from the Kalavryta Ski Centre

Χελμός - Βουραϊκός

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aroania Landforms of Achaea Mountain ranges of Greece Ski areas and resorts in Greece Landforms of Western Greece