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Ierapetra in Crete
Hotels and apartments
Ierapetra is the most southerly town in Europe and is
known for its particularly mild climate. The town of Ierapetra has
been in existence since ancient times, when it had important trade
links with North Africa. Roman remains, a Venetian fort, a Turkish
mosque and minaret still exist.
The journey from Heraklion takes about one and a half
hours. In the centre of the town there is a long promenade with lots
of shops, tavernas and hotels, and the little harbour with its Venetian
fort. Many of the local inhabitants of the area around Ierapetra work
in agriculture, and so is common to see the long green houses for
growing vegetables, while inland there are lovely pine fortests and
olive groves. The kilometre long sand and shingle beach with numerous
attractive little coves, has two beaches which have been awarded the
Blue European Flag.
Near to Ierapetra, there are many little villages with
rooms or apartments for rent as well as lots of hotels. The region
of Ierapetra lends itself particularly for walking, or for boat trips
to the nearby bays, to the golden Island of ‘Crisi” or
Koufonisi with its unusual crushed-shell beaches. There are many interesting
outings to be made, for example a visit to Agios Nikolaos, to the
vast Lassithi Plain with its windmills, to the Butterfly Gorge or
to the beautiful palm strewn beach at Vai.
Hotels & apartments in Ierapetra
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| Address in France: 20, Boulevard Joseph Garnier
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| Address in Greece: Astrikas - Chania - Crete |
Samaria gorge. Crete, Greece
Having a total length of sixteen kilometres, this gorge is the largest in Europe and certainly the most famous and visited among the many gorges of Crete.
Until about the middle of the century it was a wild landscape with a totally undisturbed ecosystem and home to a great number of wild birds and mammals as well as to a small population of woodcutters and shepherds who lived in Agia Roumeli or in the village of Samaria inside the gorge.
Today this village has been abandoned, but the steep slopes of the gorge and the thick forests in the surrounding area are still populated with many rare species. These include over fifty species of wild birds - among them, the extremely rare harrier eagle (Gypaetus barbatus) and golden eagle (Aquila Chrysaetos), both threatened with extinction - and about ten species of mammals among which the famous Cretan wild goat otherwise known as kri kri and the Cretan polecat known as zourìdha. As for the flora of the area, it is abundantly rich and includes many wild flowers native to this land.
In 1962, the gorge, together with a small area to the west and east of it, was officially declared a National Park, so that its delicate ecosystem could be protected.
The park extends over an area of 5100 hectares and, unlikeits quiet days in the past, today it is visited by some 300,000 people a year, all of them determined to walk the gorge. Visits are allowed between May and October, but in July and August the tourists are so many that it is impossible to be alone even for a minute. On the other hand, if you can come between May and early June, or between the middle of September and the end of October, you will certainly enjoy it a lot more.
A good time to visit the gorge (in fact, a time before it is officially opened to the public) is the first weekend of April, when a two-day festival is held in Samaria in honour of Osia Maria. The liturgy in the small Byzantine church is chanted by father Giorgis Chiotakis of Sfakia, an amazing priest who likes a good feast as much as anyone else and yet is a truly holy man.
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