Lassithi Plateau
An amazing route which gives us the opportunity to visit some of the most famous destinations of Eastern Crete.
We will start with ascending to Lassithi Plateau and overlooking the North Cretan Sea with an excellent view. The first stop will take place at the traditional village of Krasi, at an altitude of 600 m, where we will have the opportunity to admire the picturesque streets and the huge plane tree of the village with an estimated age of at least 2.400 years old and with a trunk perimeter of 24 m, as well as the very old fountains through which natural waters run all year round.
Our next stop will be at the 13th century Monastery of Kera Kardiotissa (Lady of the heart). An old icon of the monastery depicting Mary holding baby Jesus is considered miraculous.
On the entrance to plateau we will visit windmills park, from where you will admire amazing panoramic views of mountains and Aposelemis dam.
Then we head towards the Cave of Zeus known as Dikteon Andron Cave, where we will visit it and “meet” some of the most ancient parts of Greek mythology. * According to a Cretan myth that was later adopted by the Greeks, Cronus, king of the Titans, upon learning that one of his children was fated to dethrone him, swallowed his children as soon as they were born. But Rhea, his wife, saved the infant Zeus by substituting a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes for Cronus to swallow and hiding Zeus in a cave on Crete. There he was nursed by the nymph (or female goat) Amalthaea and guarded by the Curetes (young warriors), who clashed their weapons to disguise the baby’s cries.
There are many small villages on the plateau which maintain their traditional colour and character.
Reading most tourist guides about the area, you are sure to see it described as a plateau of 10,000 windmills. There are also some old black and white photos showing thousands of windmills scattered throughout the area. Unfortunately, most of these windmills, with crude pumping engines and iron towers of simple technology, no longer exist. Originally, the locally-constructed windmills made their appearance in the valley at the end of the 1800s. During the 1950s there were about 4,000 of the structures offering invaluable assistance to local farmers. Today, with more modern means of irrigation and power supply, that number has been greatly reduced, depriving Lassithi of its unique identity.
However, there is much renewed interest in the restoration of the windmills, which would bring back the picture of the Lassithi Plateau as it once was.
