Elika

The first village encountered on entering Vatika. The site was inhabited as early as the Mycenaean age. Coming after the Greek War of Independence in 1821, the first modern settlers were livestock breeders from Mani who settled on the western side of the mountain. Over the years more settlers arrived from Kythera and other Aegean islands. A walk through the village leads to the imposing church of Aghios Haralambos, where construction began in 1912. An older church had been built in 1850 near the first settlement of Maravelianika, along with a primary school in a nearby building. A new primary school was erected in 1924.

A village with lovely stone houses, a lively agricultural economy and unique natural beauties, not to mention the nearby beaches of Marathias (2.5 km to the southeast), Limnes and Platanisto, the Koulentianos tower and nearby settlement of Aghios Mammas.