Palamidi Fortress - Nafpilo, Greece

I'll start with some facts and figures.

The fortress was built between 1711 and 1715 by the Venetian district governor of the time.

It sits upon the top of a 216 metre high hill.

The locals say there are 999 steps (in fact there are over a thousand) that twist and turn STEEPLY up the hill leading from the old town.

The view from the top is that of the Argolic Gulf and the old and new town of Nafplio, surrounding hills and mountains. And it's sensational.

From the base of the hill looking up I thought that it was high, sure, but should be quite easy.

I think I needed to stop about 5 or 6 times on the ascent. I told myself it was so I could take photos but that was only partly true.

This is a photo from about 1/4 the way up...

Here is one from about 1/2 way...

3/4 of the way there...

And the finish line...

The view was breathtaking to put it mildly.

I'll have to say there were some vantage spots that I ventured to that caused me to have a small case of vertigo. It's steep as I said before and when you peer over the edge, with a high degree of caution, it looks like there is no gradient at all. Just a sheer drop.

The fortress itself was brilliant.

It's in a really good condition given its age. The location probably has something to do with that.

After exploring the bastions and storerooms, the prison area (which these here are photos of)...

and the church plus other numerous areas it was time to take the walk back down.

When I finally reached the bottom my legs felt like jelly and it took until the next day for me knees to stop hurting.

That doesn't matter though because it was great fun and and well worth a little pain for a huge gain.