The Kallikratis Gorge is one of the quietest walking ravines in southern Crete, hidden in the Sfakia region on the border of the Chania and Rethymno districts. It runs from the high mountain village of Kallikratis, set on a plateau in the White Mountains, down to the coastal village of Patsianos near Frangokastello. The trail … Read more
Voila stands in the far east of Crete as one of the best-preserved ghost villages in Greece, a hushed cluster of stone houses abandoned in the last century. A prosperous settlement under Venetian and then Ottoman rule, it now rewards travellers who prefer atmospheric ruins to crowded resorts. You reach it on the windswept Armeni … Read more
Moires stands as the bustling commercial centre of the Messara plain in southern Heraklion, Crete, far removed from the polished tourist resorts that line the island’s northern coast. This working market town serves the fertile agricultural region with banks, shops, tavernas, and the practical services that keep rural Cretan life running. Every Saturday, one of … Read more
Marmara Beach sits at the point where the Aradena Gorge spills into the Libyan Sea on Crete’s remote south coast. Smooth, pale marble rocks polished by waves frame this small cove in the Sfakia region of the Chania district, giving the beach its name and creating a striking contrast with the turquoise water. The roadless … Read more
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