A little bit further of "Koumpedes" in Heraklion, in the feet of Strouboulas, next to the old highway, in the 14th kilometre to Rethimno, there is a big circular ditch known as the "Threshing Floor". This extraordinary settle was always causing the justified curiosity of passerbies, because the place around is rough, almost inhospitable, full of hard stones and a little dust.
The Klissoura gorge is 45 km south of the town of Heraklion, in the province of Monofatsio, near the village of Charakas. From there we start going up Asterousia Mountains leaving the panoramic view of the central plain of Messara behind us heading to the village of Paranymphi. We drive southeast after leaving Paranymphi following the dirt track road passing in front of the cemetery and after about two kilometers we find a small chapel on our right.
You have two choices concerning the route / access to Agiofarago. The first and most popular one starts from Odigitria Monastery and ends at the beach crossing the beautiful gorge. The second one starts from Kali Limenes and ends at the beach crossing a marvelous coastal path. We are going to describe the second route, as the first one has turned dangerous because of the dozens of car-parts robberies reported at the point where the cars are parked just before walking starts.
Some of the mountains in Crete have something that makes them special among the others. The Mountains of Dikti are like that. With their highest peak Spathi imperiously looking down from 2148 meters it has a lot of thrills to offer.
The "Prinos" hut belongs to the Alpine Club of Heraklion (EOS Irakliou) in Crete. Its building was completed in 1967 and it was renovated and extended in 1992. It is located on the east massif of Psiloritis at an altitude of 1100 meters with a magnificent view of the biggest part of the county of Heraklion and Mount Dikti (Lasithiotika).
Crete and particularly the prefecture of Rethymno invites the visitor to not only enjoy the sea and the infrastructure of organised tourist resorts, but also to explore the multifarious beauties of the countryside and the mountains, where he can come into closer contact with the every-day-life of the locals in the villages.
Driving through the Selino area of Hania prefecture we reach the village of Agia Eirini (700 m. above sea level). Today it has a population of only 100 people (it used to have 500).The river Agieriniotikos passes through the village, which is surrounded by olive trees, plane trees and cypresses. A small church, built in 1357, with marvelous wall paintings is on the Bridge at the beginning of the gorge.
Built on a small plateau, under the mountains Kastro and Fanari, the Askifou can offer the visitor a magical scenery. Especially in wintertime when the plateau is covered with snow or in springtime when is green-clad. In Askifou there is the largest cypress forest in Crete. 50 km away from Hania and 750 meters above sea level, the area has a population of 500 people. The name Askifou comes from the ancient word Skifos (which means cup), as an old peasant told us, because the plateau looks like that.
A completely different walk.It's summertime so I can't help looking forward to a day by the sea. On a nice morning and while I was looking for a certain book I came across a completely different one. Unexplored Crete? in big letters, a challenging title to browse in the book.I started turning over the pages realizing that I had been to nearly all the places described in them. All except?
The gorge of Imbros starts from the last houses of Imbros village and after 8 Km ends at Komitades village.This gorge except from it's natural beauty, has some other aspects that attract the visitor. Crossing is easy and not dangerous at all. Of course there is no need for a guide in order to cross it, since the course to be followed is obvious.
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