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Plakias in Crete
Hotels and apartments
The old Cretan fishing village of Plakias with its little
harbour, lies in a particulary beautiful landscape between the blue
Libyan Sea and vast majestic mountains that edge down to one of the
loveliest bays on the south coast. It is about one and a half hour’s
drive from Chania or Heraklion.
Many years ago, there were only a few houses, but today,
because of its delightful setting, the village has spread to cater
for the growing numbers of tourists, who have told each other of this
special place that they have found. However, it still retains its
particular Cretan character and has kept its laid back charm.
The bay has a long sand and shingle beach between headlands,
that gets sandier the farther you go from the village. Not far from
the old harbour are tiny bays and small coves where you can find quiet
spots to sun bathe and swim. Boats sail daily to a variety of beaches,
some of which have a good selection of water sports and the whole
area is ideal for swimming, and sun bathing in an blissfully not crowded
setting. There is a variety of amenities for visitors and surrounding
mountainous countryside.
For short trips with minimum effort there is Preveli,
the Venetian fortress at Frangokastello and the Minoan site at Phaistos
are all well worth a visit. Further afield to the east you may like
to visit the cliff caves of Matala and the ancient Roman capital of
Gortys, or to the west the picturesque old town of Rethymno and the
atmospheric old Monastery of Arkadi.
Hotels & apartments in Plakias
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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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