Elika is built at the foothills of the mountain, at an altitude of 150 metres, overlooking the Laconic Gulf. It is the first village that one encounters on the way to Vatika, and it is just 20 km from Neapolis coming from Asopos. The area has been inhabited since the Mycenaean era. According to many researchers, the ancient city of Aphrodisia, which was built by Aeneas or other inhabitants of Kythera, is located there.
Until 1923, Elika belonged to the municipality of Monemvasia and then became an autonomous community. Also, close to the village (3 km), visitors can find the Marathias sandy beach with the many tourist businesses.
After the Revolution of 1821, the first settlers arrived there from Mani and settled on the west side of Mount Maravelianika. Gradually, other settlers came from Kythira and the Aegean islands, so the settlement grew.
There are two versions of the origin of the name of the village. Some claim that it comes from the beautiful nymph of Eliki, while others claim that the village owes its name to the name of a settler from Alika of Mani who settled in the area after the Revolution of 1821. When they went to his hut, they said, "let's go to Alikiotis ", and so, by chance, it eventually became Elikiotis.
In the village with the stone houses, the historic buildings and the old watermills, visitors can see many remarkable churches. In the centre, visitors can see the imposing, metropolitan church of St. Charalambos, whose construction began in 1912 and was completed in 1958 with the assistance of the Elikian American Association, "St. Charalambos". At the top of the village (in the first settlement of the Maravelians), you can find the older Agios Chralambos - the oldest katholikon of Elika. According to the founding inscription, it is a one-room, vaulted church founded in 1850 with the inhabitants' work. The Post-Byzantine Agios Efstratios' church, built northeast of Elika at the height of 210 metres, is of particular interest. Visitors can also see the three-aisled church of Saints Constantine and Helen in the village. The central aisle is dedicated to Saint Charalambos, the south to Evangelismos and the north to Saints Constantine and Helen.
Finally, the stone-built Primary School, founded in 1925 on Michail Manolitsis' initiative, is worth visiting. The first Primary School operated around 1850 in a building near the old Agios Charalambos Church.
