The Taygetos is the long, sharp mountain range that walls in the western side of the Eurotas valley and looms over Sparta on the horizon. Its highest peak, Profitis Ilias, reaches 2,407 metres — the second-highest summit in the Peloponnese — and holds snow into June most years.
The range is good for serious hiking; the path up Profitis Ilias from the Bolaxes shelter takes a long but technically straightforward day and is one of the classic Greek mountain hikes. Lower down, the Langada Pass road between Sparta and Kalamata is one of the best driving routes in the Peloponnese — narrow, switchbacked and dramatic, with several worthwhile stops including the Taygetos waterfalls. The drive end-to-end takes about ninety minutes.