Kokkinos Pirgos beach
Kokkinos Pirgos (i.e. Red Tower) is located 67km west of Heraklion and close to the town of Tymbaki. The name is taken after a tower that was built with reddish soil in the mouth of Geropotamos river. It is the seaside village of Timbaki, the main port of the region and developed in tourism. In Kokkinos Pirgos you will find many hotels, rooms, restaurants and cafes. The climate of the region is generally warm and many locals deal with growing fresh vegetables in greenhouses.
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In front of the village, there is a very long sandy beach, which starts here and extends for several kilometers to the southeast, till Kommos. This long beach hosts several loggerhead sea turtles (Carretta carretta) that lay their eggs in the sand during summer. The seaturtles and the nests are protected by some organizations, such as Archelon. The beach of Kokkinos Pirgos is open to the west winds. It starts on the east from the wire-fence of the military airport of Timbaki and runs to the west, till Agia Galini.
The eastern part of the beach, from the port till the airport, is named Katalyki. Katalyki is a very well organized beach with umbrellas, sunbeds, lifeguard and water sports. There is a seaside road running along the coast with many cafes and restaurants, making this popular for a drink. In the east of Katalyki there is a large marsh, which is one of the most important wetlands in Mesara plain, watered by Geropotamos River.
Makrimaliana beach
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The beach of the area stretching west of the harbor is named Makrimaliana. The beach near Kokkinos Pirgos is quite wide, but as we head towards Agia Galini gravel massifs raise above it and approach the sea. Thus the beach gets narrow and in some parts it disappears when the sea is wavy. This is not organized and is completely remote. The beach is nothing special but you will surely get impressed by the rock formations which have been sculpted by wind and sea.
