Spilia at Rizes

Spilia at Rizes (cave at Rizes) is located after the village Perachori, in southeastern Ithaca. Starting from Vathi, you take the road to Marathia and shortly before Anemodoura you will find the path to Spilia at Rizes. The path is marked with a blue informational sign and is steep, yet really short. The climb will not take you more than 20 minutes and if you choose to visit the cave in the afternoon, then the biggest part of the route will be in the shade.

After the hike, you will come to Spilia at Rizes, while another blue sign will assure you that you came to the right place. You can enter through a small hole. The smell of humidity and mold in the cave is really intense, even though there is a large opening at the top of the cavern.

At the edge of this large opening you will see an old fig tree and you will easily make out its roots. “Rizes” means “roots” in Greek and this what gave the cave its name. Some researchers believe, due to its size and capacity, that this was the Homeric Cave of Evmaios, where the shepherd of Odysseus was keeping his animals.