Full Day 8h
Private
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The starting point for this tour is Hersonissos. After the necessary briefing from the driver, you will head south towards the Lassithi plateau. The road soon leads us to the dam of Aposelemi. There you can see the abandoned village of Sfendili, which, depending on the water level, is visible or not
Then we are visiting an olive oil factory in Avdou village. We wilder, the provincial road, among olive groves, to the picturesque village of Amariano, where you can have a drink and see the remains of the Roman aqueduct. This is where the off-road driving begins. The landscape becomes wilder, and we quickly gain altitude. However, the panoramic view compensates us. If we are lucky, we will see the imposing vultures flying! The road ends at the fertile plateau of Lassithi where there were once more than 1000 windmills, which pumped groundwater to irrigate the fields.
Next stop is Lasinthos Eco Park with pottery factory, zoo, botanic garden and local restaurant. After our meal, we will start our return and go through the col, where the windmills that the locals used to grind their flour, are still standing. A few kilometres later, we will visit the monastery of Kera, one of the most important religious monuments in Crete. The monastery (due to its central location, between Heraklion and Lassithi Plateau) was used as a “shelter” for Cretan freedom fighters. Within a few months, between October 1866 and June 1867, Panagia Kera was burned twice by Omer Pasha’s army. On the way back we will make one last stop in the village of Krasi, for a drink of raki.
