Gouverneto Monastery rises like a fortress on the wild northern edge of the Akrotiri peninsula, commanding the rocky headland near Chania in western Crete. Known also as Our Lady of the Angels, this working monastery blends Venetian military architecture with Orthodox spirituality—corner towers, thick walls and a sheltered courtyard speak to centuries of isolation and … Read more
Elos stands among chestnut and plane trees in the mountains of far western Crete, the best known of the nine villages that make up the Enneachora region. This green settlement in the Kissamos area of Chania district offers shade, running water and old stone architecture far from the coastal crowds. The village celebrates its famous … Read more
Kapsa Monastery is one of the most striking places on the far southeast coast of Crete, a white cluster of buildings that clings to a cliff at the mouth of the Perivolakia gorge above the Libyan Sea. Dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, it sits in the Sitia area of the Lasithi district, near the … Read more
The Sarakina Gorge is one of eastern Crete’s most refreshing short walks, a narrow canyon carved into the hills above the coastal village of Myrtos. Sheer grey walls of marble-like limestone rise on both sides, closing to a couple of metres in the tightest passages, while the Kryos river threads through pools and over smooth … Read more
The Katharo Plateau sits high in the Dikti mountains of eastern Crete, a remote plain of stone huts, vineyards and orchards far above the everyday coast. It lies in the Lasithi district, around eleven hundred metres above sea level, reached by a steep, winding road up from the village of Kritsa near Agios Nikolaos. Farmers … Read more
Rouvas Gorge is the green counterweight to the bare, sunbaked ravines of southern Crete. This wooded ravine cuts the southern slopes of Psiloritis above the village of Zaros, in the Heraklion district of central Crete. It shelters one of the largest surviving holm-oak forests on the island. Walkers arrive here for shade, running water and … Read more
Askyfou is a fertile mountain plateau high in the White Mountains, in the Sfakia region of western Crete, at around seven hundred metres above sea level. The basin sits within the Chania district, ringed by peaks and cooled by highland air even at the height of summer. The main road from Vryses down to the … Read more
Omalos is a high mountain plateau in the White Mountains of western Crete, a flat, fertile basin sitting at around eleven hundred metres above sea level and ringed by bare limestone peaks. A small village of the same name spreads across the basin, serving the walkers and climbers who arrive here through the year. The … Read more
Kedrodasos sits on the far southwest coast of Crete, in the Chania district, just east of the pink-sand lagoon of Elafonisi. Its name means cedar forest, and a grove of low, ancient juniper trees grows across the dunes right down to the sand. Pale sand, smooth flat rock and shallow turquoise water make it a … Read more
Neapoli sits inland in the hills of the Lasithi district of eastern Crete, the administrative capital of the region and a working town rather than a resort. The main road between Agios Nikolaos and the Selena mountains runs straight through it, past a broad central square shaded by plane trees, the grand church of the … Read more
Ha Gorge, known locally as Faragi Ha, slices the western face of the Thripti mountains above the Ierapetra plain in eastern Crete. Its huge dark cleft is visible for kilometres across the plain. The gorge is a near-vertical slot, barely a couple of metres wide in places. A chain of waterfalls and deep pools breaks … Read more
Ano Viannos stands as a mountain town in the south-east of the Heraklion district, built on the slopes of the Dikti range high above the Libyan Sea. It is the main settlement of the Viannos region, and whitewashed houses climb the hillside among plane trees and running springs. Old churches, two of them carrying fine … Read more