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Kamilari
- Kalamaki in Crete
Hotels and apartments
This typical Cretan farming village, just over one and
a half hour’s drive from Heraklion, has kepts its original character,
and remains largely untouched by tourism. Kamilari is picturesquely
set on a hill, with fabulous panoramic views over the Ida mountains,
over the fruitful Messara plain and to the sea beyond.
Thanks to Greek hospitality, the warm welcome given
to children and rural village life, it is the sort of place where
one quickly feels at home. Alongside the small shops there are Greek
tavernas and Kafeneions which will give you a flavour of Cretan village
life.
Around the village there are lots of places to explore,
perhaps by setting off on foot along some of the country footpaths,
or going further afield by car. Among some of the possible outings
to choose from are the Minoan archaeological sites at Phaistos and
Agia Triada, only 3 km away,
Matala with its famous cliff side caves, numerous old
monasteries, the mountain village of Zaros with its trout farm, and
a gorge which is comparable to the well known Samaria Gorge and well
worth exploring. For those seeking the sea, the kilometre long sandy
beach of Kalamaki is 2,5 km away, with its cliff sides and wooden
areas, as well as the 12 km sandy beach of Komos. At both of these
places there are further tavernas, little shops, Pensions and holiday
homes.
Hotels & apartments in Kamilari & Kalamaki
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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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