Greece - Plataniotissa, Church of the Virgin Mary

The small village of Plataniotissa, 30km northwest of the town of Kalavryta, has is one of the holiest and most unique pilgrimages of Greece, Church of Our Lady (Panagia Plataniotissa) (All Holy Virgin of the Plane Tree) which is tucked inside the hollow of a large plane tree (it’s a special and natural phenomenon which was created when three plane trees sprung together close to each other and over time united into one).

Nowadays the tree has a base of around 16 meters. The interior of the church - about 8 meters long and 3 meters wide with a capacity of around 20 people - shows the depiction of the icon of the Holy Virgin, holding baby Jesus.

We were a little disappointed with our visit to the tree church in Plataniotissa. Unlike the pictures on the internet, almost all the branches of the plane tree (and also of the surrounding trees) had been cut off due to disease. As a result, only a trunk remains, making it much less impressive