The Byzantine castle of Orionda or Reonda, is located in the NW of Paleochora at the top of Orionda Mountain. It rises at the northern end of the Vaskina Plateau, near the now deserted Paleochora. Oriondas was a fortified Byzantine settlement. The settlement was abandoned in the 17th century when neighboring Prastos began to flourish.
The castle is mentioned in the memoires of travelers such as Leake, Curtius, Bursian and Philippson. The name probably derives from the ancient settlement of Orii (older name of Prassies or Vrassies).
Oriondas (Rionde) is mentioned in the French «Chronicle of Morea» (§ 868-869) about 1303, relating to the neighboring small city Sitaina, part of which was awarded to Cephalonia's Count Richardo Orsini for repayment of an earlier debt by Philip of Savoy.
It is worth noting that tools and utensils from the Neolithic era were found here. Remains of a square tower 3m tall are saved in the middle of the east side of the wall. The tower is made of roughly processed stones, plaster and tiles. Remains of yet another tower in poor conservation status can be seen in the southeast corner of the castle. Also, inside the enclosure, there is a fallen aperture with ceramic decoration