Where To Go & What To See On Crete

Crete is especially known for its tranquillity and its historical and natural beauty. Yet there is plenty to do if you can tear yourselves away from Villa Halcyon.

Beaches:

Crete is ringed by beautiful beaches. You’ll never find any of them crowded, even in high season. Here is a sample of some of them around the island:

Kalives, Almirida and Plaka beaches are safe sandy beaches within ten to fifteen minutes drive.

Elafonissi Lagoon is one of the prettiest beaches in Crete and equally famous with Vai palm-forest beach. Pinkish sand, very shallow water and really crowded till 16:00 when the tourist buses depart. This is the time to enjoy the place. Wait till the sunset and have your camera loaded and ready.

Falassarna Beach  a long sandy beach with wonderful sunsets. It has been voted for Best Beach of Greece for 2002. There are several beaches in the Falassarna bay:

- small sandy beaches close to the ancient Falassarna town (north)
- the "Long Beach" or "Pachia Ammos", which is the famous long and wide sandy beach of Falassarna.
- another sandy beach with a rocky seabed (south). No facilities here.
- a small pebbly beach close to the port of Falassarna (south).

The White Mountains

The White Mountains or Lefka Ori occupy a good part of the centre of West Crete and are the main feature of the region. They are made of limestone and called White Mountains because they are covered in snow until late in the spring. In the summer, the sun reflected on the limestone summits makes them appear white as well.
The highest summit is Pachnes (2453m) and there are over 30 summits that are higher than 2000m. The White Mountains also have about 50 gorges, the most famous being the Gorge of Samaria.
Another characteristic of the mountains are the high plateaux in the centre of the mountains. The best known is the plateau of Omalos which is a round plain surrounded by mountains, at an altitude of 1100m.

More Info http://www.west-crete.com/lefka-ori_white-mountains-crete.htm

Knossos, the famous Minoan Palace lies 5 kilometres southeast of Heraklion, in the valley of the river Kairatos.

The first settlement in the Knossos area was established circa 7000 BC, during the Neolithic Period. The economic, social and political development of the settlement led to the construction of the majestic Palace of Knossos towards the end of the second millennium BC.

Knossos was the seat of the legendary King Minos and the main centre of power in Crete.

This first Palace was destroyed circa 1700 BC. It was rebuilt and destroyed again by fire, this time definitively, in 1350 BC. The environs of the Palace were transformed into a sacred grove of the goddess Rhea, but never inhabited again.

More information about Knossos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knossos