Thripti is one of the quietest corners of eastern Crete, a tiny stone village perched high in the Thripti mountain range at around eight hundred metres above the sea. It sits in the Lasithi district between Ierapetra and Sitia, wrapped in pine forest, cypress and terraced fields that stay cool and green while the coast … 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
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
Moni Toplou rises from the arid landscape of eastern Crete like a fortress, its thick defensive walls concealing centuries of spiritual devotion and resistance. The monastery takes its name from the Turkish word for cannon, a testament to the artillery that once defended these sacred grounds in the Lasithi region. Visitors journey here to witness … Read more
Sitia is a relaxed port town at the far eastern end of Crete, in the Lasithi region. The town rises in tiers above a wide bay, and a palm-lined waterfront runs along a long town beach. The restored Venetian Kazarma fortress crowns the hill and looks down over the harbour and the sea. An archaeological … Read more