Lassithi

Nov 17, 2016
16364 Views
Tour shopping Fun

Any place in Crete is sure to fascinate visitors. The island is reputed for its amazing mosaic of landscapes – each one, however, retaining its own character, its own identity and beauty. The eastern part of Lassithi is considered to be the low-key aspect of Crete, one of peace, quiet, things being done in a relaxed way, hospitality.

It is the corner of Crete with the even-tempered mountains, the “smiling shores”, the fine beaches and the countless Blue Flag beaches. Not to mention the dunes in its south coastline and on its small islands in the Libyan sea, and the hot and life-giving sun shining for almost three thousand hours a year − the highest annual sunlight average in Europe!

Lassithi is the Crete of large and renowned ancient cities, Minoan palaces and ports , medieval monuments, traditional villages, unique landscapes, immense olive groves, verdant vineyards, gardens, orchards. It is a place having to offer enchanting cultural and nature-loving treks to canyons, caves, forests, agricultural landscapes, ancient paths, habitats, monuments, castles, monasteries, countryside churches, villages. A place with a long tradition in tourism, high-quality services, excellent resorts renowned the world over, hotels having received numerous distinctions internationally, and all sorts of outstanding tourist accommodation, built at unique locations.

A decentred and, at the same time, “multi-centred” structure is one of the most characteristic features of Lassithi. There are four towns in the area – beautiful, functional, and full of life and movement. Agios Nikolaos is built on five small hills and known for its picturesque lake, indented coastline and cosmopolitan colour. Ierapetra, with its Kale fortress, its immense sandy beach, its spaciousness and its never-ending summer, claims the title of the “nymph of the Libyan sea”. Sitia, with an amphitheatric layout, the Kazarma fortress, the picturesque old town, a vivid island colour and a strong sense of the sea, is the town of high spirits and fun. And Neapoli, with its fine and functional square, long historical tradition, old mansions and peaceful environment, is the town of intellect and literature.

The greatest advantage of Lassithi is that, no matter which part of it one may be at, one can, in a very short while, find oneself in a town or beach! Thus, all the visitors of the area, even those who are staying at mountain villages, can very easily have access to services, town living and the area’s sublime beaches. But the reverse is also the case: those who live in the towns have, very close to them, beautiful and cool villages with traditional taverns and coffee shops, picturesque back streets and squares, old churches and houses, and of course these follow the old paces of life, those of calmness and slowness, of a philosophical disposition and of the traditional hospitality. Such are the seaside villages of Sissi, Milatos, Elounda, Plaka, Kalo Chorio, Mochlos, Palekastro, Zakros, Kserokambos at Ziros, Goudouras, Makris Gialos, Koutsouras, Achlia, Agia Fotia, Ferma, Koutsounari and Myrtos at Ierapetra. In the inland, such is the Lassithi Plateau with Tzermiado and Agios Georgios, Kritsa near Agios Nikolaos, the Chandra – Ziros Plateau, the unadulterated villages of the Sitia province, etc.

Source: www.incrediblecrete.gr

Posts about Lasithi

The new aspect of tourism, Sitia Geopark

May 12,2021

When the Sitia region became a member of the UNESCO Geopark family, we had no idea just how much positive change this would bring! This new aspect of tourism “Sitia Geopark”, is proving to be a considerable point of interest, especially in the alternative tourism market. The natural environment is no longer an obstacle for tourism development, on the contrary it is a great attraction for visitors. We... read more

Elouda beach

Jul 20,2017

The nice sandy beach northern to the small port of Elounda is situated at a distance of 11 kilometers far from Aghios Nicolaos at the North, and 70 -77 kilometers eastern to the International Airport of Heraklion, via the New or the Old National road respectively. Protected by the Spinalonga peninsula, the beach is not affected by the winds. Fully organised, the beach offers a wide range of accommodation,... read more

Voulisma beach

Jul 20,2017

Voulisma is the second of the three bays in the beautiful village Istron, about 12km east of Agios Nikolaos and 22km north of Ierapetra. The Voulisma Beach or Golden Sands is located approximately 500m from the village (east). Its length is about 700m and is the largest municipal beach of Kalo Chorio.Voulisma is a very well-organized beach, with rare beauty for a beach located in the Northern part... read more

The Dikti Range

Nov 17,2016

THIS RANGE LIES BETWEEN HERAKLION AND LASSITHI. Its highest summit is Spathi (2.148 m) and there are two more peaks at an altitude of more than 2000m. Lassithi Plateau, the largest in Crete, lies at the heart of the range at an altitude of 850 m. It is surrounded by a series of smaller plateaus such as Katharo, Limnakaro, Mari, Lapathos, Omalos, Erganos and Nisimos. There is a mountain shelter at Limnakaro... read more

Lassithi

Nov 17,2016

Cave of Pelekita or Cave of the Fig Tree

Nov 18,2016

It lies to the North-Northeast of Kato Zakros. We arrive at the cave either after a one-hour walk from Kato Zakros or from the beach of the same settlement by engine-vessel (20-25 minutes) and after that, we follow a tiresome ascending route (15 minutes walk). The elevation at the entrance attains 105 metres. Stones consist of limestones from the upper Cretaceous and of dolomites from the Triassic... read more

Page: 1

διαβάστε περισσότερα

Cave of Pelekita or Cave of the Fig Tree

Nov 18, 2016
11748 Views
Tour Cave

Pelekita (“hewn” in English) is the name by which the whole area is known. It comes from the quarry lying underneath the cave, near the seashore, where people used to extract hewn stones from the Meocene marly limestone deposits that exist there. Another name of the cave is Sikias Spilios (“Cave of the Fig Tree), due to the big fig tree that exists on the right side of the entrance under the cave, from where the view to the sea is breathtaking. Pelekita Cave is one of the biggest in Crete. Its total length attains 310 metres.

It has large chambers up to 45 metres in width and quite high. Corridors of a total length of 700 m approximately can be exploited. The cave takes up an area of 500 square metres approx. but if its inclinations are taken into account, the area is much more bigger. The first time it was roughly mapped and studied was by El. Platakis on 11th August 1963. A full mapping of the cave was conducted end of November 1969by members of the Greek Speleological Society led by I. Ioannou.

The entrance to the cave is large (11,5 in width, 6 metres in height). After that, the first chamber opens up (22 metres in length, 20 metres in width and 7 metres in height). Its floor is sloping with many rocks and low, artifical walls. To the left, there is an expansion that leads to a narrow passageway (0,2 metres), which later attains 6 metres. Here, we come across artificial walls, too.

After the first chamber, a passageway (14,5 metres in width and 2,30-7 metres in height) leads to the second chamber, which is big and very spectacular (65 metres in length, 45 metres in width and 15 metres in height) with sloping floor and big rocks that have fallen off the ceiling. On the rocks, there are small stalagmites.

At the beginning and on the right of the chamber there are majestic pillars and spectacular stalagmites, one of which has leaned over the rock touching it with its tip. A little further from the centre of the chamber, there is a nice platform with stalagmites, from which the view to all directions is quite impressive. The ceiling looks resembles a beautiful vault. On the right of the platform near the walls of the chamber there is a 15 metres deep pithole. On the left of the platform, the descent is very steep.

There, on a solid rock the geological decor is marvellous, forming cascades. The floor inclination continues to be steep. At the depths of the chamber there is a passageway, which attains 6 metres. From there begins a spectacular corridor, which is 10 metres in length and 4 metres in width, leading to another chamber with stalagmites (20 metres long, 17 metres wide and 8 metres high). Here, we are in a depth of 43 metres from the entrance of the cave.

At the end of the chamber we come across a 7,5 metre wide 5 metre high passageway. If we go down the passageway, we come across a third chamber with a floor that is sloping up to 35 metres and then it becomes ascending for 65 metres. As soon as the visitor enters the chamber, they become impressed with its size, with the majestic beauty of the natural decor and with the absolute calmness that evokes strong emotions. Its length is 100 metres, its width is 40 metres and its height exceeds 15 metres. Huge pillars and bulky stalgmites elevate from the floor, their height exceeding 10 metres. At the base, their diameter attains 3 metres.

All those make up a breathtakinly beautiful, majestic whole. Also in that chamber there is a big balcony, from where the visitor enjoys the glorious spectacle. The ascending part of the floor makes it very difficult to walk on, it is almost entirely covered with big rocks, very slippery and we need to climb up on many occasions. The chamber ends up in a passageway 9,5 m in width and approx. 5 metres high with many rocks scattered on the floor. The floor becomes sloping and leads us directly to the fourth chamber, which is 60 metres in length, 10-22 metres in width and 5 metres in height. The last part of that chamber presents a rich natural decor made of white pillars and beautiful stalagmites.

At the edge of the chamber, there is a cluster of small pillars and between them there is a narrow passageway, 1,2 metres in width. From there, we enter the last chamber of the cave (33 metres in length, 6 metres in width and 0,5-2 metres in height). On its right, a small corridor is formed and if we follow it, after 8 metres we come across a junction of another two very narrow corridors. Near the end of the chamber there is a small pond (5,5 * 1,2 metres) with water up to 1 metre deep.

After the pond, the floor is ascending ending up to a very narrow passage (0,30 m in width). Maybe there is more to it, however access is impossible. Here, we are in a depth of 51 metres from the entrance of the cave (vertically). This is the deepest part of the floor. Visitors must not go further than the pond or enter the corridor with the junctions. It is very dangerous and unsafe, since the floor (even near the pond) collapses when someone passes. Moreover, mud and other materials fall of the ceiling that may easily obstruct the exit.

The cave is a bed of an underground river, which is no dried up with the exception of the pond. From all parts of the ceiling small and also very big rocks have fallen off. The Cave Pelekita has been characterized as a cave of international tourist interest. The entire area with its magnificent cave, the Minoan palace of Zakros, the peak sanctuary of Traostalos, the Gorge of the Dead and the wonderful beach make up a whole of great significance for tourism.

Source: www.incrediblecrete.gr