Kouremenos beach is a long, exposed sweep of sand and pebble on the east coast of Crete. It sits in the Lasithi district near the village of Palekastro, a short hop from the famous palm beach of Vai. This is not a polished resort shore but a wild, sporty bay, scattered with tamarisk trees and … 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
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
Plaka is a small seaside village on the east coast of Crete. It sits in the Lasithi region, just north of Elounda. The village faces the fortress islet of Spinalonga across a narrow channel. Small boats still cross from its jetty to the island. Plaka once served as the supply point and staff base for … Read more
Xerokambos is a remote scatter of beaches and a tiny settlement at the far south-eastern corner of Crete, in the Lasithi region beyond Zakros and the mountain village of Ziros. Long stretches of soft pale sand and clear, shallow turquoise water back onto low dunes, tamarisk and old salt pans, and the coast stays undeveloped … Read more
Myrtos is a small whitewashed seaside village on the south coast of Crete, set in the Lasithi region west of Ierapetra. A long grey-sand and pebble beach fronts the village, and narrow flower-filled lanes climb the slope behind the shore. Low-key tavernas, cafes and rooms line the seafront, and the village keeps a relaxed, alternative … Read more
The Dikti mountains form the great highland range of eastern Crete, a high limestone massif also called the Dikti massif or Lasithiotika Ori. The range spans the Lasithi and Heraklion regions and rises to the peak of Spathi at about two thousand one hundred and forty-eight metres. Dikti cradles the fertile, ring-shaped Lasithi Plateau, feeds … Read more
The Milatos cave sits in the hills above the village of Milatos, on the north coast of Crete in the Lasithi region near Neapoli and the fishing village of Sissi. This wide, low stalactite cavern spreads through interconnected chambers rather than one tall hall, and a small whitewashed chapel dedicated to Saint Thomas stands inside. … Read more
Sissi is a small traditional fishing village and low-key resort on the north coast of Crete, set in the Lasithi region east of Malia and close to Milatos. A pretty little harbour lined with fish tavernas and cafes forms its heart, framed by low cliffs, with small sandy and rocky coves close by. The atmosphere … Read more