Varasova ( el, Βαράσοβα) is a limestone mountain in the southern part of Aetolia-Acarnania in western Greece. It was known as ''Chalcis'' ( grc, Χαλκίς) in

antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

, and there was an ancient Aetolian town at its foot named

Chalcis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

, ''Hypochalcis'' or ''Chalceia'' (hence the name of the current administrative unit Chalkeia). It rises steeply from the coast of the Gulf of Patras to 917 m elevation. It is situated just east of the mouth of the river

Evinos The Evinos ( el, Εύηνος) is a river in western Greece, flowing into the Gulf of Patras. Its source is in the northern Vardousia mountains, near the village Artotina, Phocis. The river flows in a generally southwestern direction, for most o ...

, 3 km east of Galatas, 14 km east of

Missolonghi Missolonghi or Messolonghi ( el, Μεσολόγγι, ) is a municipality of 34,416 people (according to the 2011 census) in western Greece. The town is the capital of Aetolia-Acarnania regional unit, and the seat of the municipality of Iera Polis ...

and 18 km northwest of

Patras ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

. 8 km to its east is the mountain

Klokova Klokova ( el, Κλόκοβα, also known as ''Paliovouna'' (Παλιοβούνα)) is a mountain in the southeast of Aetolia-Acarnania, in western Greece. In classical antiquity, the mountain was known as ''Taphiassus'' (Ταφιασσός). Its h ...

. There are several

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

routes on the steep south and southwest faces of the Varasova. It is referred to as the

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...

or Western Greece, due to the large number of churches and monasteries (around 72) built in the Byzantine and the Ottoman period. Several still exist today, including the 9th-18th century cave monastery of Agios Nikolaos near Kryoneri, which is only accessible by boat.Galatas tourist guide
/ref> Local tradition tells us that the Titans endeavoured to throw this rock into the sea, so that it might form a bridge between the two coasts; but the rock proved too heavy, and was dropped where we see it today.

Gallery

File:Limnopoula.jpg, East side of Varasova, Kato Vasiliki File:Patras Varasova 2008.jpg, Varasova from

File:Kryoneri2243.jpg, Varasova from Kryoneri File:Kryoneri1754.jpg, Varasova, Kryoneri File:Calydon_Aetolia_2010.JPG, Varasova from ancient

Calydon Calydon (; grc, Καλυδών, ) was a Greek city in ancient Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus, 7.5 Roman miles (approx. 11 km) from the sea. Its name is most famous today for the Calydonian boar that had to be ov ...

References

External links

Climbing routes at Varasova
{{Authority control Landforms of Aetolia-Acarnania Mountains of Greece Mountains of Western Greece Climbing areas of Greece