Perama Cave

Ioannina


Just around the edge of the lake from central Ioannina, this cave is among Greece’s largest and most impressive. Discovered by accident in 1940 by residents fleeing bomb attacks, 1100m of its fairy-tale passageways can be explored on hourly guided tours (45 minutes, in Greek and English). Knowledgeable guides come armed with fascinating facts about geology and unique cave fauna. The cave is usually colder than outside, so dress accordingly.

Buses 8 and 16 from Ioannina’s clock tower run regularly to Perama, 250m south of the cave.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Ioannina attractions

1. Municipal Ethnographic Museum

1.67 MILES

Set inside the Aslan Pasha Mosque (1619), the museum exhibits local costumes and period photographs, along with tapestries and prayer shawls from Ioannina…

2. Moni Filanthropinon

1.73 MILES

This monastery, active at least since the 13th century, bursts with flowers and is tended by kindly nuns – in stark contrast with its church, in which one…

3. Kahila Kedosha Yashan Synagogue

1.75 MILES

Open only by appointment, this temple, built in 1829, is nonetheless worth scheduling ahead if you're interested in Ioannina's deep Jewish history…

4. Historical Museum of Ioannina

1.79 MILES

This small private museum has some beautiful objects and gives a concise overview of the city's colourful history, with special attention to Jewish and…

5. Its Kale

1.86 MILES

A more heavily fortified section within the Kastro, the Its Kale (Inner Castle) today feels less like a citadel than a city park. Inside the ramparts, on…

6. Silversmithing Museum

1.87 MILES

Although the centre of Ioannina no longer rings with the distinctive tapping hammers of the city's famous artisans, that sound and their trade are…

7. Byzantine Museum

1.9 MILES

This museum presents early Christian and Byzantine art, pottery, coins and silverware, plus post-Byzantine icons and manuscripts, early Venetian-produced…

8. Ali Pasha Museum

1.91 MILES

On Ioannina's idyllic island, the monastery where Ali Pasha made his last stand (or recline, really) in 1822 is now a small, cheerfully morbid museum,…