Real Crete tour
If you want to explore the real Crete, this is the best excursion for
travelers who want to visit traditional villages of Crete with no fancy
restaurants and touristic places, but with the help of our local knowledge and
the little details we will explore the real Crete. Amazing landscape, the
traditional villages of Crete, places to stop for pictures and the amazing Cave
of Sfedoni.
Our first stop in the most traditional village of the island, Anogia. This
village is a large mountain village with population of 5,000 and lays on Mount
Psiloritis in the central Cretan prefecture of Rethymno. The village has two
aspects, our guide will escort you and guiding you until the Old Anogia which
is the lower part, reached after you pass the inviting square filled with
Kafeneia and traditional houses & stores selling Cretan traditional
products. You are more likely to see men wearing the Cretan baggy trousers
tucked into their boots, heads decorated with nets, here than just about
anywhere else. We will have the opportunity to go in one of the traditional
houses in Anogia to see the handmade souvenirs and watch the old way that women
were used to fix handmade blankets, clothes etc.
We continue to the famous Sfedoni cave, in Zoniana village. The cave is one
of the most important caves in Greece, covering an area of about
3.000 square meters. The cave’s unique and rare beauty mesmerizes everybody,
establishing it as one of Crete’s most beautiful caves. Visitors are
allowed to explore a route of about 270 m, along which they can admire a
variety of impressive formations. Large columns create labyrinthine compartments
inside the cave and stalactites and stalagmites of different colors and shapes
decorate the cave’s chambers.
After Sfedoni cave it`s lunch time in Anogia village, in the tavern where
you have magnificent view of the village and the surrounding area, a perfect
place for your photos. The cuisine of Anogeia is typical of the traditional
Cretan one. The wealth and the quality of the products of the island over the
centuries had as a result a cuisine with unique taste and freshness. The secret
of Cretan diet is the rich variety of products of Cretan land and the olive
oil, which is used in all the dishes. Cheese, honey, aromatic plants and many
other products of Psiloritis are the basis for the miracle called the cuisine
of Anogeia. Top tastes are “ofto” and cheese.
On the way back to our hotels, we make a stop in Axos village and visit the
Monastery Dioskouri. In Axos village we will visit the museum and the workshop
and find out the aesthetic and artistic
proposal, traditional elements, folklore elements (for example,
the marking of the animals), sociological data (the family structure,
the position of man and woman), historical evidences etc. After the
museum we make our last stop in Dioskouri Monastery, one of the oldest monasteries
in Crete. In the center of the courtyard there is the church of St. George. The
old icon of St. George is famous to the Cretan herders who swear on that when
they are accused of stealing animals.
Departing time: 08:30
Return time: 18:00
i) Pick up point & time will be sent to client’s mail direct the day
before the activity.
ii) Any changes to operation day of activity will be sent direct to
client’s mail at least 1 week before arrival in destination.
iii) Languages are provided services: English, French & German. Any
other languages are upon request. Pls inform requested language in remarks
box.