Crete's UNESCO Sites
The largest of the Greek islands, Crete has four ENUESCO sites, which are Sitia, Psiloritis, Asterousia, and the Gorge of Samaria.
The Psiloritis Mountain Range
One of Crete's UNESCO Sites
It's not surprising that Crete has four UNESCO sites, being
the largest of the Greek islands with a total area of 8,450 sq kms (3,260 sq miles).
The four sites all involve mountain ranges:
·
Sitia and the Zakros Mountains in the northeast.
·
Psiloritis and Mt Ida in the centre.
·
Asterousia in the south.
·
Samaria and the Samaria Gorge in the southwest.
The Area around Sitia
One of Crete's UNESCO Sites
The lovely port town of Sitia is in the Lasithi regional
unit of Crete, the most easterly of Crete's regions. It's not only the town
which has been recognised by UNESCO, but the area around it too. In 2015 UNESCO
declared it a Global Geopark because of the Zakros Mountains, the cave systems,
the discovery of fossils, and the encouragement of ecotourism and geotourism,
benefitting the local communities.
The Psiloritis Mountain Range
One of Crete's UNESCO Sites
Psiloritis was also declared a Global Geopark in 2015,
although it had been part of the European Geoparks Network since 2001.
Psiloriitis is the name of the mountain range, and the park extends from the
mountains down to the Libyan Sea, an area of 1,159 sq kms (447 sq miles). The
park also encompasses the Talaia Ori Mountains, and these extend all the way to
Crete's north coast.
The highest peak in the Psiloritis range is Mt Ida at 2,456
metres (8,058 ft). UNESCO recognised the area, amongst other things, for its geodiversity,
with its many caves and deep gorges, for its plant and animal life, including
wild cats, and for the way its attractions help sustain local communities by
bringing in visitors.
Crete's UNESCO Sites
Map (c) Google Maps
In 2020 UNESCO designated this area, the most southerly
mountain range in Europe, as the Asterousia Mountain Range Biosphere Reserve. It's
not only for its dramatic beauty, but also for its rich archaeological
heritage: people have lived here since Neolithic times. It's also home to 55%
of the animal and plant species that are found on Crete, including the Bearded
Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Golden Eagle, and Bonelli’s Eagle.
Golden Eagle
The Gorge of Samaria, and surrounding area, is also a UNESCO
Biosphere Reserve, created in 1981. This makes it the oldest of Crete's UNESCO
sites. It's also a National Park, and the only one of these four areas to be
uninhabited. It does, however, have ancient ruins, including churches and
castles, from the days when people did once live here.
For more information, see our pages on the Samaria Gorge and
Hiking the Samaria Gorge.
Samaria Gorge
One of Crete's UNESCO Sites
Our Pick of the Crete Guides
Some other Crete pages
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Crete Botanical Gardens near Chania and finds a wonderland of colourful plants, trees, and flowers filling a lovely valley.
Greece Travel Secrets visits Crete and learns about making rakomelo from Jorgos Kourmoulis in Agouseliana.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in Irakleio, the capital of Crete, including nearby beach resort hotels and accommodation in the city centre.
Sir Arthur Evans is the archaeologist famous for the excavations he made at the royal palace of Knossos on Crete.
This Rouvas Gorge walk starts and ends in Zaros in southern Crete and should take three to four hours with a distance of eight kilometres or five miles.
Greece Travel Secrets discovers Sitia, the main town in eastern Crete, with its relaxing waterfront, inexpensive hotels, good food, and nearby ancient sites.
Chania is the main city in Western Crete with a lovely setting and a beautiful harbour as well as several museums.
These shopping tips for Crete include advice on buying souvenirs like ceramics, icons, jewellery, leather, weavings, wood carvings, and food and drink.
The most famous Cretan writers and artists include the painter El Greco and the author of Zorba the Greek, Nikos Kazantzakis.
Driving on Crete is the best way to see Greece’s biggest island and here is our driving advice and some information about Greek driving regulations.
The Battle of Crete during World War 2 inspired several books and took place with an airborne invasion over Maleme on the north coast of the island.
Ancient Gournia is a Minoan archaeological site between Agios Nikolaos and Sitia in Eastern Crete where the visitor can see evidence of a maze of back streets.
Greece Travel Secrets recommends where to stay in western Crete, including both luxury and inexpensive hotels in Chania, Rethymnon, and Paleochora.
Visiting the Arkadi Monastery near Rethymnon is one of the best things to do on Crete.
Western Crete in five days allows time to visit Chania and Rethymnon, enjoy the beaches, hike the Samaria Gorge and see the monasteries at Arkadi and Preveli.
Keramos Studios in Zaros on Crete is an inexpensive two-star hotel/guesthouse with one of the best breakfasts on the island using food from the family’s farm.
Western Crete has some wonderful golden sand beaches as well as mountain villages, monasteries, caves, and archaeological sites to discover.
Crete’s wildlife and landscape are two of the island’s attractions, including gorges for hiking, rare raptors like the lammergeier, wildcats and ancient trees.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Zacharioudakis Winery near Ancient Gortina in southern Crete, and does a vineyard tour arranged by our guide from Go Crete.
Greece Travel Secrets suggests where to stay in Eastern Crete with our favourite hotels in Zakros, Elounds, Sitia, Agios Nikolaos, Istron Bay, Myrtos, Neapolis.
Greece Travel Secrets page on Phaistos or Faistos, the site of one of the finest Minoan palaces on Crete and is where the mysterious Phaistos Disc was found.
The Byzantine Church of Panagía Kerá near Kritsa and not far from Ayios Nikolaos is one of the most famous in Crete, and close by is the site of Ancient Lato.
Lonely Planet Crete is an excellent and thorough guide of almost 300 pages to the largest of the Greek islands.
Ancient Gortina is an archaeological site in southern Crete famous for the church of Ayios Titos and for the Law Code inscribed here, the first in Europe.
Malia on the north coast of Crete is renowned for its nightlife and beaches but also has the Minoan Palace of Malia, one of Crete's many archaeological sites.
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