The beach of Falassarna
Falassarna Beach has won prizes for being the most beautiful beach in Crete and is always one of the top ten beaches in Europe, with its wonderful, fine yellow sand and warm, crystal-clear water.
Falassarna beach is included in Natura 2000, because of its outstanding natural beauty and the variety of flora and fauna in the area.
The beach is fully organized, with umbrellas and loungers.
Watersports are also available on the beach.
On the way to Falassarna beach you can visit and admire:
The Monastery of Saint George in Karydi
The Monastery of Saint George in Karydi (in Apokoronas Province) is located about 2 km east of Vamos village. The monastery was abandoned for many years but was restored in 1996 and today it is operating normally. The monastery is the unique in Apokoronas province and is the most interesting monument of folk architecture in the prefecture of Chania.
The trademark of the monastery is the remains the old olive oil factory (fabrica) with the 12 arches, which is unique in all of Crete. There are still four mills, of which only their bases survive because the millstones have been removed.
When the Turks came to Crete, they asked to turn the Church of St. George to a mosque. Thus, they imposed exhaustive taxes to force them to leave the church and its land. However, the priest granted the church to the monastery of Agia Triada Tzagarolon, which could pay its taxes.
Since then, several monks of Agia Triada came to Karydi and built the new and larger temple with its current form.
The cave of St. John the Hermit or Xenos in Marathokefala
In the Marathokefala area on a beautiful mountain peak, lies the famous historical cave of St. John the Hermit or Xenos, where the Saint lived according to tradition. He toured Crete and founded the rich ascetic tradition of the island. Inside the cave there is a 15th century temple and foundations of old cells dating from the 17th to 18th centuries.
To the left of the cave is the crypt that Saint John had to hide from frequent visits by shepherds and farmers. Nearby is a small area that was traditionally used as a secret school. Next to the temple, from a slit of rock, winter-summer, slowly dripping water, the “holy of holies” as reported by the faithful, which is stored in a small tank for the faithful to take.