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	Mountains form the backbone of Crete, split north south by spectacular gorges. Most guides take their bearings from the two main cities of Rethymnon and Chania. They are the focal point of any journey. Both cities are delightful and charming in themselves with a wealth of Venetian and Turkish architecture and a visitor that did nothing but explore them would have a very rewarding holiday. But the mountains beg for a visit and the gorges are just too good to miss. Anyone who doesn't get a car or hop on a tour bus will lose out on some spectacular scenery and simply breathtaking views, not to say charming and attractive hill villages.	Meon Villas has premium villas across the island of Crete with an exclusive 10% discount for online customers

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		RETHYMNON AREA CRETE
		Apart from the delights of the city of Rethymnon itself ....Situated on the main highway that runs the length of the island Rethymnon is well placed as a base for exploration, not only of the north coast itself but inland through mountain passes to the south coast.


		Rethymnon City	Satellite map Rethymnon
		The approaches to Crete's third largest city of RETHYMNO are not particularly attractive. There is a derelict and scruffy air to the urban sprawl of concrete that greets you when you swing off the main highway. But what a difference awaits in the heart of the city where charming Venetian buildings sit alongside the slender minarets of Turkish mosques. The city centre enjoys an almost aristocratic air with its arched doorways, crumbling balconies and faded facades. The most picturesque part is the old Venetian harbour where scores of romantic, if pricey, tavernas tables line the quay and a Venetian lighthouse stands sentinel at the end of the long harbour wall. Almost every street has an abundance of cafes and restaurants intermingled with interesting craft and antique shops. The beach area to the east is the least attractive with an ugly chain of hotels, souvenir shops and cheap cafes, though the palm-fringed sands are flat and spacious and the water generally calm. Apart from the Fortezza (see below) other notable city sites include the Arimondi fountain built in 1623, now almost buried by a modern taverna (though water still spouts from the mouths of its three lion heads). There is also the slender Nerantzes Djani minaret attached to a former Venetian church built in 1227 visible from almost anywhere in the city.	Rethymnon lighthouse Holidays in RETHYMNO Fresh Holidays (8) Going Places (17) Monarch (12) MyTravel (22) Olympic Holidays (18) YouTravel (26)


		Joy Hindmarch - Rethymnon photo gallery

		Rethymnon Fortezza	More on Fortezza
		The Fortezza is the jewel in Rethymnon's crown. It claims to be the largest fort ever built by the Venetians and it is certainly an impressive sight. Building began in 1573 on the ruins of a Byzantine fortress built to protect the city from repeated raids by pirates and Turks. On completion, the whole city population could be contained within the Fortezza's walls where there was a barracks, hospital, even a cathedral. Many of the buildings are now in ruins although extensive reclamation work in under way thanks to generous dollops of Euro cash. At the main entrance is a good archaeology museum where exhibits include helmets, bronze axes and an extensive coin collection. There are also many finds from local Minoan tombs on display.


		Arkhadi
		The ARKHADI MONASTERY, around 25 km south east of Rethymnon, stands as a Cretan symbol of revolt against the Turks. In 1866 around 600 Cretans, blew up the gunpowder store, and themselves, rather than surrender. It was restored just four years later. Each November 9 the event is commemorated all over the island with fireworks and dancing. The distinctive facade built in 1587 is an extravagant mix of styles. A small museum houses several religious relics and pictures of the rebels, sporting astonishing moustaches and dressed in traditional Cretan costume of headbands and baggy trousers. In one of the outbuildings called 'The Sanctuary of the Dead' are several rows of neatly arranged skulls.


		Kournas
		Crete's only freshwater lake is - well it's a lake. Hidden from view until you are right upon it, KOURNAS lake is almost circular with a depth of around 100 ft. A small sandy strip surrounds the lake in the summer offering a nice walk. Pedal boats have appeared to add fun and spoil the atmosphere and bathers often take a dip in summer. On the road down is a small cave with stalactites opposite the taverna. It is not easy to find and rather dangerous but the chap in the taverna will show you the way if you want to stick your neck out. The village is a little higher than the lake and forms a horseshoe around the mountain. The baker is known for his paximadi, a double baked bread, tough on the teeth but very filling. Brothers Stelios and Eleftheris, from an old Kournas family, established an excellent pottery on the outskirts of the village in 1992 specialising in the traditional blue Cretan ware and very nice it is too.



		SOUTH OF RETHYMNON
		There are two routes south of Rethymnon through the mountains. The more easterly route splits in two down each side of the long and leafy Amari valley to reach the south coast at the popular Anglicised resort of Agia Galini. Directly south the road leads through the spectacular Koutaliotiko Ravine to the beach lagoon at Preveli and, further along the coast, the growing resort of Plakia. The other road inland leads through various nondescript villages until you reach the mountains at Agiropouli, known for its waterfalls and further the remote village of Asi Gonia, a noted centre of resistance after the Battle of Crete and home of George Psychoundakis whose war diaries were published as The Cretan Runner.


		Amari Valley
		To the south east of Rethymnon is the long, fertile AMARI VALLEY. As you drive south the vegetation turns dense green with clusters of oak and walnut. Mountain springs flow all year round making this one of the most beautiful parts of the island. There are east and west routes down the valley. The western route is less interesting as virtually all the villages were destroyed by Germans in eight days of savage reprisals on the local population for the actions of the resistance. Every able bodied man was shot, houses dynamited and the old and infirm left to burn alive inside. Today the western villages are all modern. On the eastern slopes the most notable are THRONOS which has 14th century frescoes in the church; AMARI which is a maze of whitewashed alleyways overlooked by a Venetian clock tower; VIZARI where there are remains of a Roman town and FOURFOUNAS where walkers can head off along waymarked tracks into the mountains.	Memorial to war dead


		Spili	More on Spili
		The more direct route south from Rethymnon heads past an ancient Minoan cemetery at ARMENI and across the mountains to SPILI. This rather dreary mountain village has little other attraction than its mountain springs, the water from which spouts through the mouths of 19 stone lions set into a long stone wall. Another six spouts are mere water pipes, still used by the locals for washing. The remarkable stone lions have helped put the village firmly on the tourist coach trip circuit. Otherwise it is little more than a narrow street lined with shops and tavernas and choked by parked cars and surprisingly heavy traffic for such a little place.

Preveli

See also Preveli Beach

Beyond Spili the road drops down to the resort at Agia Galini, unless you take a west turn to the famous monastery at PREVELI. The approach is though the KOURTALIOTKO Ravine, a spectacular gorge with near vertical cliffs each side and a tiny church build into the west wall. An arched bridge spans the Megapotamos River, one of five on the island which does not run dry even in high summer, and the steep, winding road snakes up past the ruined monastery of Agios Ioannis abandoned in the 17th century.
Preveli monastery itself is heralded by a huge tarmac car park built to accommodate the huge number of paying visitors. The monastery is noted for its role in the Battle of Crete when monks sheltered marooned allied troops before their evacuation by submarine from the shores below. Plaques and flags at the entrance testify to the sacrifice made by the monks who suffered 'ferocious' reprisals by the jackbooted Germans. The monastery itself was subsequently looted and turned into a German outpost to prevent further allied escapes.
Most of the buildings date from the 19th century and the architecture is nothing special. In fact, the place has a sad and scruffy air despite spectacular views over the Libyan Sea. The former monks' quarters resemble ramshackle stables and there is a tiny one-room museum which houses a few old clerical relics. A recent fire burned down many of the trees that once surrounded the place.

Prevelli monastery


		Argiropouli
		Two rivers, the Petre and Moussella flow either side of the village at AGIROPOULI to feed the nearby waterfalls which spill down through groves of plane trees intermingled with tavernas. The water and shade make this a favourite picnic spot for Cretans as well as tourists. The village itself is built over the ancient city of Lappa. Greek and Roman ruins are hard to find, though the shop selling local avocado-based cosmetics will happily provide a map. Inhabitants now number around 450 but at Lappa's height around 200 AD there were 10,000 living here. There is not much left to see - just the odd stone doorway and a few old walls. South of the village though is a cistern built in 27 BC and still working and a recently discovered Roman mosaic floor. Most of the interesting stuff was carted off to museums. More of interest can be found east of the village down a stone path to the tiny Church of the Five Virgins. Passing a plane tree thought to be about 2000 years old are many ancient tombs carved out of the rock. There are believed to be hundreds of tombs here and you can walk inside many of them.	Agiropouli waterfalls



		CHANIA CRETE

		Chania City	Satellite map Chania
		The capital of Crete until 1971, Chania is still the island's most charming city and for many the best-loved. Away from the harbour area it is much like any other, a modern sprawl of urban concrete built around the two harbours it is a wonderful mix of Turkish and Venetian architecture that, for the most part, miraculously survived the bombers of World War II. Parking can be a real problem in the traffic choked streets away from the traffic free shoreline so a taxi to the indoor market is the best bet. Laid out like a crucifix, the Agora market, built in 1911, is a delight, serving both tourists and locals. Here you will find everything from buckets of sliced pig heads (Turner Prize material this) to gift wrapped sachets of herbs, from bags of delicate mountain tea to Superman comics. Through the east door and down some steps is the busy outdoor leather market crammed into the narrow street of Odros Skridlof and further on the splendid archaeological museum, housed in the old Venetian church of San Francesco, with a good display of Minoan pottery and artifacts. North of the museum lies the heart of Chania - the two Venetian ports. The eastern harbour has Chania's most photographed buildings, the slender Venetian lighthouse at the end of the harbour wall and the squat Mosque of the Janissaries built in 1625 with strange egg-shaped domes and spider leg arches variously a mosque, tourist centre and exhibition hall. Behind the mosque lies the Kastelli quarter where a complex of Minoan buildings was unearthed only to be buried again by the Luftwaffe. There are seven recently restored vaulted shipyards of the Venetian Arsenal originally built around 1600 - there were once 17 of them. The rectangular west harbour is generously lined with tavernas and cafes beneath the faded and crumbling facades of Venetian houses and tipped with a solid, unattractive fortress of the Firkas Tower. Chania visitor reviews	Harbour from the Firkas Venetian lighthouse Holidays in CHANIA Going Places (5) Fresh Holidays (8) Monarch (1) MyTravel (5) Olympic Holidays (19) YouTravel (11)



		AROUND CHANIA
		Chania is the gateway to the far west of Crete where the most remote and most spectacular spots are to be found. South are the Lefka Ori or White Mountains and the famous Samaria gorge, the longest in Europe. While the east has the quiet, peaceful villages of Apokoronas, the west has the rugged and, some say, the most beautiful coastline of the whole island.

		Souda
		Linked to Chania by an urban wasteland of car dealerships, small factories and wasteland sites SOUDA or SUDA is the principal port of Crete, thanks to one of the best deep water anchorages in the Mediterranean. While views across the bay are magnificent, Souda itself is dreary, dirty and noisy place dominated by large military bases hidden behind huge walls. On the opposite side of the bay and down a precipitous footpath are the neatly trimmed and incongruously green lawns of the Commonwealth War Cemetery with its 1,527 graves and small visitor chapel. Strategic Souda was much fought over in World War II with bombing raids by both sides. More recently local builders have dropped enough cement to bury the bay under hundreds of unfinished concrete homes. It seems just about everyone in Souda has an unfinished house with a view of everyone else's unfinished house. On the main route from the airport piles of rubbish, abandoned vehicles and shabby wire netting are everywhere, making Souda a sad and sorry introduction to the island for many visitors.	Souda war cemetery

Apokoronas region

More on Aptera

This distinctive region of APOKORONAS is typified by quiet, narrow roads and tiny, peaceful villages. The former regional capital at VAMOS is built on a small hill and is full of splendid neo-classical town houses built for rich merchants. Euro grants have helped restore many homes and to build a large health centre. A kafenion and a taverna are run by the local preservation society and the local bakery is considered the best in the region. The local tourist office gives guided walks and tours.
Above Kalives is the once powerful city state of APTERA founded around 600 BC and now a weed infested field full of ruins, the most notable of which is a huge triple-vaulted cistern dating from Roman times.
The nearby village of KALAMI is dominated by a Turkish fortress Izzedin built in 1646 and enlarged in 1872. It once housed political prisoners for the Greek Junta (1967-74) but now serves as an administrative centre for the military.
Other villages of note include PLAKA where there are good walks, KOKKINO HORIO which has a glass recycling centre and GAVALOHORI, full of traditional Cretan houses with preservation orders slapped on them. The village boasts more than 30 springs, an interesting folklore museum and a large contingent of British ex-pats. There are lots of good walks in the area. The road from nearby DRAPANOS to KEFALAS has particularly splendid views over the bay as does the walk from Plaka through Kambia to Kokkino Horio.
Over the main Chania - Rethymnon highway is the important crossroads at VRISSES where many tourists change buses. It has existed as a village only since 1925 and the pleasant wide streets are lined with good tavernas nestled beneath huge plane trees. The village is noted for its fine yogurt - the locals even claim to have invented the stuff.

Image Aptera
Aptera

Image Vrisses
Vrisses



		SOUTH OF CHANIA
		Roads south of Chania lead into Crete's magnificent mountain range called the White Mountains or Lefkas Ori. White because snow remains on the majestic tops well into the summer. They form a majestic backdrop to almost all the resorts on the north and south coast and are so high they create different weather patterns north and south.


		Askifou
		The newly improved road south from Vrisses rises steeply to the unfortunately named KRAPI village then drops to the ASKIFOU plain. Shockingly green, flat and fertile it is surrounded by mountain crags. The village itself has no tourist facilities, just the ruins of a Turkish fortress. The road south drops into the delightful IMBROS gorge. This was the route taken by retreating Allied soldiers after the Battle of Crete and the plain itself is the site of a major battle between Cretans and Turks in 1821.

Samaria Gorge

Probably the most popular excursion destination on Crete. Walking the 18 km path through the longest gorge in Europe has today become more like joining the queue at a supermarket checkout. Once dramatic and wild, the SAMARIA GORGE is now a national park increasingly tamed by dinky picnic tables and tasteful waste bins. It can also be impossibly crowded for much of the year. An impromptu pause to admire a view can trigger an alarming tailback of tourists and probably a sharp nudge in the back.
There are two advertised ways to walk the gorge - the proper way from the north for the full length of the glorious gorge and the 'easy way' way from the south which is a dull trek from the port at AGIA ROUMELLI to the edge of the gorge and back.
The walk proper begins high in the White Mountains or Lefka Ori around 4 km south of the hamlet of OMALOS. The walk, though downhill, is not easy and can take from 6-8 hours over rock strewn paths that are never very difficult to negotiate but not often easy. Walkers are advised to leave those flip-flops in the apartment and put on stout walking boots for the duration. This does not stop a torrent of trippers - more than 1,000-a-day in the high season - streaming off the coaches, buying a one-day ticket at the large tourist pavilion and stepping onto the Xyloskilo or 'Wooden Staircase', a railed zigzag path that plunges down and into the gorge.
Once on the floor the cliff walls slowly narrow as you progress until you reach the former village of Samaria which dates from the 4th century but which was abandoned in 1952. Today it is a well-worn resting place for weary hikers with basic picnic facilities and some truly disgusting toilets. Further south the walls become claustrophobically awesome until they almost converge at the Sidero Portes - the 'Iron Gates' - where they stand just 9 ft apart at the base and tower straight upwards to almost 1,000 ft.
The gorge is open from May to October when rains can cause flash floods and make the passage dangerous, if not impossible. Walkers must buy a date stamped ticket so they can be counted in and counted out and there is even a helicopter pad half way down to carry out the wounded.

Samaria visitor reviews

Image Samaria Gorge
Start of the gorge

Iron Gates


		Agia Roumelli
		The gateway port to the gorge at AGIA ROUMELLI was spawned by dozens of concrete mixers in the 1960s when the original inland village was washed away by flash floods. Now it is little more than a staging post for exhausted walkers as they trickle out of the gorge. An unmissable opportunity for cafe owners to gorge on a steady supply of weary wallet bearers.

Chora Sfakia

The hair-raising decent from Imbros to this jumping off port to the Samaria Gorge is not for the those without a clear head for heights. The precipitous drive down the steep zigzag road is made worse by notoriously reckless local drivers and a steady stream of tour coaches.
This is the SFAKIA region, noted in the past for banditry. It was said that no Sfakian ever left home without a gun in his belt. Today, battered and holed roadside signs are obviously used for target practice on a regular basis.
Hemmed in by mountains, the seaside village of Chora Sfakia gets little more than a passing glance from visitors as they troop down from the large and expensive car park to the boat jetty to catch the ferry to the gorge.
Actually it isn't worth more than a glance being little more than a row of expensive cafes, souvenir shops lining the small harbour. The village has a savage history that belies it modern meek appearance.
Locals were considered little more than brigands and bandits for centuries and families were embroiled in a bitter and bloody feud for nearly 100 years. The tradition was revived in World War II when locals helped evacuate retreating Allied troops.
A monument on the jetty commemorates the mass evacuation while a memorial above the village honours the local men, women and children who were summarily executed by the occupying Germans as a result.

Chora Sfakia visitor reviews


		Loutro
		Little more than a stopping place for the boat to the Samaria gorge, the tiny village at LOUTRO is perched in a horseshoe bay and overshadowed by looming cliffs suffers from the lack of a decent beach although there are some deserted coves nearby if you are prepared to look for them. Touted so often as the ideal out-of-the-way resort it now gets rather too crowded for its own good.



		CRETE PHOTO GALLERIES
		Rethymnon photo gallery by JOY HINDMARCH
		If you would like your photo gallery here then email details. It takes 10 photos to make a gallery and they can be of the whole island or of a particular resort. I can offer a small amount of cash for a good set of photos.

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Crete resorts | tourist holiday travel guide

RETHYMNON AREA CRETE

SOUTH OF RETHYMNON

CHANIA CRETE

AROUND CHANIA

SOUTH OF CHANIA

CRETE PHOTO GALLERIES

A tourist holiday travel guide to the Greek island of Crete