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Panormo in Crete
Hotels and apartments
The small seaside village of Panormo lies between Heraklion
(about 50 min) and Rethymno (about 15 min) on the north coast of Crete.
Visitors have always been welcomed into a warm and friendly traditional
atmosphere, which the locals retain to the present day. .
Panormo is ideal for children, not only because they
are given a warm welcome in the village, but because there are small
sand and pebble beaches and shallow waters. This authentic Cretan
village with its narrow streets and bright geraniums is the perfect
place for those who want to escape a little and enjoy the peace and
tranquility of Cretan life. There is a good selection of cafes, traditional
tavernas, a butcher, a baker and shops where you can sample the local
food and drink at reasonable prices.
Panormo is the site of an old port using during Hellenistic,
Roman and Byzantine times, and there is still much to see from the
past. The beautiful surrounding area is ideal for walkers who wish
to explore the countryside. There are buses which go regularly to
Rethymno or to Heraklion (about 50 min journey) making Panormo an
ideal base from which to explore many parts of Crete.
For culturally interested outings you may choose to
visit the Monasteries of Arkadi and Prevely, and the world famous
Minoan Palace of Knossos. Otherwise you may wish to explore the wilderness
wonders of the Samaria Gorge, or simply take time to visit the mountain
villages, for example the village of Margarites where traditional
pottery and wood carving are sill being produced.
Hotels & apartments in Panormo
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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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