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Sights Other Sights Western Crete: An authentic welcome
| Western Crete: An authentic welcome |
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fine beaches, gorges, picturesque villages, plenty of heritage, good food and amiable people. It has only been slightly affected by tourism development -- with the exception, perhaps, of the Plakias resort on the southern coast. The hilly area between the Mouselas and Petres rivers, some 10 km west of the city of Rethymno and 40 km east of Hania, is dotted with pretty villages, such as Episkopi and lush Argyroupoli -- the latter built where ancient Lappa used to be, an important town in Roman-era Crete. It is worth visiting the source of the Mouselas River and exploring the Petres, Kato Poros, Vilandredo and Asi-Gonia gorges. Another option is venturing along a superb stretch of European Walking Trail E4, which crosses the enchanting forest of Koumaria at Alones. Georgioupoli is a small resort at the western end of a beach over 8 km long and with plenty of trees to provide shade and quiet for everyone -- even in summer. Even though tourist development is often anarchic, the ample space mitigates its impact. In fact, it can be described as blessed by nature, just below the imposing Lefka Ori Mountains and lying above one of the island’s most ample water tables. The rivers and streams flowing down from the mountain create natural habitats that host some 174 bird species, both endemic and migratory, including herons, cormorants, swans and birds of prey. Some of these are rare and threatened, while other creatures include the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) and the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus). The rich flora includes around 400 species. A couple of kilometers south of the beach is Kournas, Crete’s only natural lake, with a maximum depth of 22 m. A few kilometers west and 25 km from Hania is Vamos, a beautiful village atop a hill with fine views of the sea and the Lefka Ori. Inhabited in the 9th century by Arab pirates, it became an administrative center in the 19th century and acquired sumptuous villas with Venetian and neoclassical elements. After decline set in during the 1990s, Vamos was fortunate enough to be revived by a local initiative that targeted the restoration of the village’s old houses and their conversion into guesthouses with full respect for tradition but also equipped with modern comforts. The result has been a welcome picture of Crete -- in sharp contrast with the usual excesses of tourist development -- which has received wide praise. The old girls’ school is now a hotel, while the enterprise also features a workshop of traditional products that are sold at a local outlet. Twenty-five kilometers southeast of Rethymno, in the foothills of Mt Psiloritis, is the Arkadi Monastery, perhaps Crete’s most venerated symbol of freedom, where a few hundred defenders in a revolt against the Ottoman Turks in 1866 set fire to their gunpowder stock, taking with them to their deaths a large number of attackers. Preveli beach, 37 km from Rethymno on the southern coast, below the historic monastery of the same name, with palm trees at the mouth of Kourtaliotis gorge, is one of Crete’s most photographed locations. A few kilometers east, archaeologists who for the past two years have been excavating an area near Plakias found stone tools at least 6,000 years old. The find has prompted a revision of the estimated dates of the earliest travel in the Mediterranean. Travel & basic info Rethymno has no ferry connections with Piraeus in the winter season, so the only other options for reaching the area are through Hania. There are up to 10 flights a day with Olympic Air (tel 801.801.01.01, 210.355.0500) or Aegean Airlines (tel 80111.20000). Olympic also flies from Thessaloniki three times a week. Ferries: ANEK Lines: tel 210.411.5015; Hellenic Seaways: tel 210.419.9000. Local buses run throughout the area but tend to be slow. Police: tel 28310.22289; Hania Tourist Information Office: tel 28210.36155. Where to eat Marouvas (in Vamos), plenty of delicious traditional Cretan dishes and a long list of wines from all over Greece; Pyrgos (Piges Argyroupolis), a very comfortable restaurant in a lush setting by the river source, with fine grilled fare and many traditional local dishes; Iliomanolis, excellent Cretan cuisine in the village before you enter Kotsifou gorge; Korisia (Lake Kournas), tel 28250.616.530, simple taverna, good value for money; Avli (next to Rethymno’s holiday apartments of the same name), pleasant decor, generic Mediterranean cuisine. What to see & activities In Rethymno (area phone code 28310), the ancient fortress, the Archaeological Museum (tel 29975), the Historical & Folk Art Museum (tel 23398), the Rimondi Fountain, the Contemporary Art Center (tel 52530) and the Kara Musa Pasha Mosque; the Arkadi Monastery (tel 83116) and Preveli Monastery (tel 28230.31246) ecclesiastical museums; the Minoan tombs near the village of Armeni, 9 km from Rethymno; a variety of walks are organized March-November by the Happy Walker (tel 52920). Â
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| Last Updated on Saturday, 08 October 2011 19:34 |
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Sights
- Plateaus ( 25 )
- Towns and villages in West Crete ( 37 )
- Towns and villages in East Crete ( 21 )
- Towns and villages in Central Crete ( 34 )
- Gorges in Central Crete ( 27 )
- Gorges in West Crete ( 31 )
- Gorges in East Crete ( 20 )
- Traditional villages in Central Crete ( 203 )
- Traditional villages in West Crete ( 127 )
- Traditional villages in East Crete ( 82 )
- Islands ( 10 )
- Museums ( 50 )
- Archaeological Sites in West Crete ( 24 )
- Archaeological Sites in Central Crete ( 49 )
- Archaeological Sites in East Crete ( 38 )
- Caves ( 49 )
- Other Sites ( 91 )
- Monasteries ( 83 )
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