Avlaki beach at Katholiko
The beach Avlaki is located at the exit of the gorge Avlaki in Arkoudovounia area, Cape Meleha, about 16km east of Chania. The access (especially the return) is quite arduous, as it takes about an hour's walking on a steep downhill cobblestone path starting from the monastery Gouverneto, where there is a parking lot, to the ruined Katholiko Monastery.
The area has great religious importance, as it was a center of asceticism in the past. Today it belongs to the Gouverneto Monastery. The path from the monastery initially passes through the sacred cave of Arkoudiotissa and ends at the deserted monastery Katholiko, right next to the cave of Saint John the Hermit. From there, the access to the beach is through the bed of the canyon, with a view of the caves where the monks lived.
Avlaki gorge disappears into the sea, forming a uniquely beautiful narrow rocky cove with deep blue-green water. The orientation of this small fjord is such that it is protected from the waves during the common summer wind.
On the shore, we meet a small well and a carved shipyard where the monks kept their boats. A little further we meet a quarry that was probably used for building materials for the monastery Katholiko. Also, there is a ship-shaped rock, which is said to be a pirate ship turned to stone by the curses of the abbot of the monastery.
