Vryses is a large, shaded village in the Apokoronas region of western Crete, built around a river fed by mountain springs and lined with tall plane trees. Its central square, where the clear water runs beneath the planes, draws travellers and locals alike for a slow coffee in the cool. Old stone bridges cross the … Read more
Gerakari is a mountain village in the upper Amari valley of the Rethymno district in central Crete, set on the green slopes of Mount Kedros among fruit orchards and running springs. It is known across the whole island for its cherries, celebrated at a summer festival, and for apples and pears grown in the cool … Read more
Fourfouras is a mountain village in the Amari valley of the Rethymno district in central Crete, resting on the western flank of Psiloritis, the highest mountain of the island. It looks across the valley to Mount Kedros, its rocky ridge dominating the southern skyline. Orchards of cherries, apples and other fruit thrive in the cool … Read more
Meskla is a green mountain village at the foot of the White Mountains in the Chania district of western Crete, set in the fertile Keritis valley among plane trees, running water and orange groves. Streams and springs cross the village, feeding gardens and keeping it lush even at the height of summer. Notable small Byzantine … Read more
Gavalochori is a well-preserved traditional stone village in the Apokoronas region of the Chania district in western Crete, set inland from the resorts of Almyrida and Kalyves and close to the larger village of Vamos. Cobbled lanes wind past stone houses, old wells and Venetian-era arched cisterns, while olive groves and vineyards surround the settlement … Read more
Stavros beach rests at the northern tip of the Akrotiri peninsula, a short drive from the city of Chania in western Crete. Its most striking feature is a near-circular, lagoon-like bay of calm, shallow, clear water, held beneath the bare grey mass of Stavros mountain. The enclosed water stays sheltered from wind and waves, giving … Read more
Panagia Kera is a small Byzantine church standing among olive and cypress trees just outside the village of Kritsa, in the Lasithi district of eastern Crete near the town of Agios Nikolaos. The whitewashed, buttressed building holds the finest and most complete set of Byzantine wall paintings on the island, covering its interior with scenes … Read more
Selakano is a remote upland forest hidden high in the Dikti mountains of eastern Crete, in the Lasithi district south of the famous Lasithi plateau. It spreads above the villages of Males and Christos, inland from the coastal town of Ierapetra, across high slopes and valleys at around a thousand metres and more. Here grows … Read more
Prassano Gorge is a long river canyon in the Rethymno district of Crete, cut by the Platys river between the Amari valley and the north coast, south of the town of Rethymno. People also know it as the Prasano or Panteli gorge. Tall grey limestone walls rise on either side. Plane trees, oleander and running … Read more
Schinaria, also written Schoinaria, is a wide bay on the south coast of Crete in the Rethymno district, a short drive south-east of the resort of Plakias and the beach of Damnoni. Coarse pale sand and fine pebble run down to clear deep water on the open Libyan Sea, and low hills scattered with tamarisk … Read more
Rodakino is a quiet coastal area in the Rethymno district on the south coast of Crete, resting between the resort of Plakias and the Venetian castle of Frangokastello. Its name means peach, a soft word for a soft place. Long sandy and pebble beaches line the shore below two hillside villages, washed by the clear … Read more
Havgas Gorge is one of the wildest short canyons in eastern Crete, a dark slot cut into the eastern flank of the Dikti mountains in the Lasithi district. Water draining from the Katharo plateau above Kritsa has sliced a sheer channel barely a metre or two wide, broken by waterfalls, deep pools and jammed boulders. … Read more