On the verdant slopes of the mountains there is the village Chostia, a village with rich vegetation, mainly olive groves, which also includes Sarandi beach.
Locals there, as well as in the wider region, cultivate cereals, olives, and produce wine, which in the interwar period was known for its excellent quality, and for this reason was exported to Italy through Sarandi.
There are many mentions of the village in descriptive narratives of 19th century travellers. The first Anglo-Saxon traveller to mention it was the English monk Sæwulf, who passed through Greece in 1102, on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He travelled from the Corinthian Gulf to Chostia and from there to Thiva and Chalkida, without taking any interest to visit Athens. Prof. J. Fossey, of the Canadian School of Archaeology, carried out extensive studies at the Castle of Chostia.
