With a history stretching back 107 years, the Rethymno Carnival is Crete’s bacchanal preceding 40 days of solemn fasting, prayer, and repentance during the Greek Orthodox Great Lent called Sarakosti. The first carnival in Rethymno took place in 1914, and it featured a ball, a parade, games and jokes, and
When you visit Crete, you want to adventure in the mountains and know where you can find accommodation or just a roof over your head and a modest, honest-to-God bite to eat. There’s nothing glamorous about mountain shelters – they are there to give you peace of mind and a haven when you are out and
Crete has some of Greece’s most unique wilderness areas to enjoy a year-round destination for nature lovers. A few of the island’s remarkable attractions include the world-famous Samaria Gorge, Psilorites Natural Park, and finally, Sitia Global Geopark. Here’s a brief preview of these “bucket list”
In Crete, archeological surveys proved that honey was consumed since Minoan times. The Minoans used honey to produce mead and probably as a sweetener in certain dishes. The bees held an essential role in Minoan culture and religious practices, as the discovery of a Minoan honeybee pendant dating from the
The mountains of Crete are the island’s heart, and the communities of the Cretan highlands are societies almost to themselves, bastions of a traditional way of life that has remained almost the same for centuries. Every village is steeped in history, with most having witnessed hardship and conflict, some
The drive from Rethymno to the south coast village of Agia Galini takes just over an hour, and the 50km journey, through the mountains and rolling hills of Rethymno province is worth it alone. Through Spili and past Akoumia, the road runs through one of Crete’s most alluring landscapes, until an abrupt
Preveli monastery on Rethymno province’s south coast stands high above the Libyan Sea. For its breathtaking location and the views alone, a visit here on a sunlit day stays long in the memory. But this place has a deep and heroic history. Like most Cretan monasteries, it was at the centre of anti-Ottoman
Vrysses, also spelled Vrisses, is a jewel of a Cretan traditional village in the municipality of Apokoronas. It is an active community whose primary sources of income originate from tourism and farming. Vrysses is well known for its olive oils, sheeps’ yogurt, and citrus production. Vrysses has a fair
Lake Kournas is Crete island’s only natural freshwater lake. It gathers its waters from the Amati spring, which originates in the White Mountains (Lefka Ori) and underground springs. Once called Koresia after the ancient city Korion, the lake counts among the most popular tourist destinations in the
The people of Crete have a word for village, “xorio,” to identify the places closest to their hearts. While most of the island’s residents live and work in larger cities like Heraklion, Chania, or Rethymno, every Crete islander has roots in a specific village and the unique traditions that go with that
