Smynos
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Smynos (Greek: Σμύνος) is a municipality in the Mani region of Laconia, Greece. Population 1,917 (2001).
It is located in the Mani peninsula on the eastern slopes of Mt. Taygetos, and it is named after river Smynos, that runs through it. The region is also known as Vardounia (and its villages as Vardounochoria), after the medieval Vardounia castle located in the area, now in ruins.
The seat of the municipality is in Agios Nikolaos. The most historic village of the municipality of Smynos is the mountainous village of Kastania. It has two towers (pirgi), in which its inhabitants used to defend themselves against the Ottomans. The village has two coffee shops and attracts tourists in the summer. The largest village in the municipality is Petrina, known for the high quality of its PDO olive oil.
The most prominent site in the municipality is the monastery of Panagia Yiatrissa which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists and worshipers every year. Other sites of interest include the Vasilitsa forest (on the path of the E4 path), and the network of canyons formed by river Smynos and its tributaries. Traditionally the municipality rarely received tourists, except for visitors to the monastery; in more recent years ecotourism has been on the rise.
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