Mountains

At position Anemospilia, on the north slopes of Mount Jiouchtas, the archeologists G. and E. Sakellarakis located in 1979 a small sanctuary of Minoan Crete that surprised the global archaeological community. This small sanctuary offered the first indication of human sacrifices in Minoan Crete.

The Gorge of Havgas is located very close to the village Kalamafka, just 12km north of the city of Ierapetra. Note that there are several other gorges with the same name around Crete, such as the Havgas Gorge in Lassithi Plateau.

Stena is located 75km southwest of Heraklion, just 500m west of Kali Limenes harbor. It is situated in a secluded bay, which is hidden beyond the hill with the church and the cave of St. Paul. According to the legend, the Apostle lived inside this cave for 2 years. Stena can be accessed via a downhill dirt road, 400m long, starting in Kali Limenes. The route, of course, can be easily walked.

West of Lendas you'll meet the small village of Tsigounas with the small beach of Limanaki (harbor) used as a local harbour, due to its protected orientation. Tsigounas name derives from the word tsigounis (stingy) referring to a local spring with a small quantity of water.

The shelter is located at Lakos Migerou position by Livadia, and is accessible by paved road. From here starts the shortest path to the top of Holy Cross, the highest on Psiloritis Mount. The shelter is manged by the Cultural Association of Livadia village (+30 2834061489). The shelter has 6 beds, wc, water and fireplace.

The Knosano Gorge (or gorge of Saint Eirini) is the continuation of Mount Giouchta. It extends south of Archanes (Saint Mamas) it runs through Archanes in Kato Milos, where starts the subpart of Knossano gorge known as Sylamos Gorge, after the nearby village. This part is very beautiful with smooth cavernous rocks and huge plane trees, and is easily accessible by car as the road connecting Arhanes to Sylamos runs along the riverbed.

Omalos Plateau of Viannos is located at the southern foot of Mount Dicti, next to Kato Simi and Viannos, 60km southeast of the city of Heraklion. It can be accessed more easily from Kato Simi, but there are also alternative routes that are worth driving on dirt track (such as the road starting from the Lassithi Plateau and another track coming from the smaller plateau of Lapathos).

Jiouchtas in the ancient times was considered a sacred mountain, mainly because it resembles a human face that looks to the sky from the northwest. Even today the human like mountain causes awe. According to the legend, this is the face of Zeus and the mountain is his tomb. Indeed the name Jiouchtas is a corruption of the Latin word for Zeus, Jupiter.