Holy Monastery of Megalo Spilaio

Build on a steep, vertical rock 120m high, in a wild, precipitous setting 10km northeast of Kalavryta, the renowned Holy Monastery of Megalo Spilao is a historical monastery and an important Greek Orthodox pilgrimage.
On the western side of Mt Helmos and in the front of a large cave, hovering above the magnificent gorge of the Vouraikos river, at an altitude of 950 meters, the holy monastery was founded in 362 by two brother monks who discovered there the icon of the Virgin Mary. Over the centuries, it has been a pillar of support for Orthodoxy and Hellenism, having suffered a series of disasters along its historical path. Most recently, it was set on fire by the Germans during WWII, but soon after it was fully rebuilt.
The monastery complex has eight floors, with the catholicon -carved into a rock- located on the third floor, and architecturally belonging to the type of cruciform inscribed church with two splints, decorated internally with a wood-carved iconostasis, marble inlays and frescoes of the 17th and 19th centuries.
A prominent place in the monastery is occupied by the icon of the Virgin Mary, embossed, 3cm thick and made of wax, considered to be the work of Luke the Evangelist.
The male monastery celebrates on August 15, September 14 and October 18, and is home to rare sacred and national relics, including a rare banner with the figures of three Byzantine emperors, a precious cross of Holy Wood, rare books and manuscripts, Gospels on parchments, as well as relics of saints.