Vouraikos Gorge and the Odontotos Rack Railway

According to myth, Vouraikos Gorge was created by Heracles who opened it up to reach his beloved Voura who lived by the sea.  The Diakopto–Kalavryta railway is a historic narrow guage (750 mm) gauge rack railway located on the northern Peloponnese of Greece.  It runs 22 km from Diakopto to Kalavryta through the Vouraikos Gorge; rising from sea level to an elevation of 720m there are many bridges over the Vouraikos River, and numerous tunnels through the limestone mountains.  The gradient of the track has a maximum of 17.5% and is fitted with a rack system to enable the train to make the assent.  Riding the train from Diakopto to Kalavryta takes around an hour, the hike back (downhill) following the tracks took me around 6 hours as there were plenty opportunities to stop, admire the scenery and take lots of photos.