The beautiful, mountainous village of Arna is located on the eastern slope of Taygetos and is built at an altitude of 700-850 metres. The village is 35 km from Gythio and, today, it has 100 permanent residents.
It is a verdant village with plane trees, walnuts, chestnuts and many rare aromatic herbs. The leader of 1821, Giorgakis Giatrakos, who, in fact, in 1822 was accused of interfering in the murder of one of the distinguished men of Mystras, Panagiotis Krevvatas, came from Arna.
Arna is the ideal destination for relaxation and walks in nature. Visitors can wander the alleys, admire the houses of impressive architecture, visit the Agios Athanasios church, or cool off at the Agia Marina springs. The river Sminos, which starts from these springs, gave its name to the municipality of the area. The famous millennial plane tree (2,200 years old), 20 metres high, is at the village square.
Papadakos' Ottoman defensive tower is located in Arna's "Upper Suburb". Arna belonged to the so-called Vardounochoria (or Bardounochoria). During the Turkish occupation (1715-1821), Turkalbanians and local Greeks settled in the village to guard the borders with Mani. In order to establish their rule there, the Turkalbanians built towers. One of the most famous agas of Arna was Salih Dervoukos, who owned two towers. These towers were probably built after the Orlov Revolt, around 1780. After the outbreak of the Greek Revolution and the flight of the Turkalbanians to Mystras, the towers were occupied by Greeks, led by the Giatrakos family of chiefs. Today, one tower is used by the Giatrakos family as a home, while the Papadakos tower, unfortunately, is deserted. From an architectural point of view, the Papadakos tower does not exceed ten meters, while it ends in a two-story roof for protection from the snow.
Every year, since 2004, the Chestnut Festival has been organised at the village's central square on the last weekend of October. It is a three-day festival with artistic events and an open-air market. The visitor can try chestnuts cooked in the largest pan in Greece, local tsipouro and have fun with live music. The Chestnut Festival is quite famous and gathers people from all over Laconia.
