Crete tourist guide

8 educational routes in Crete

2023-04-20 20:10:21

As part of the implementation of the program Educational tourism for the promotion of natural and cultural heritage - EduTourism in Crete and Cyprus, field research was carried out. Its aim was to collect opinions on educational tourism in these places. The survey targeted two categories of people in Crete and Cyprus. The participants of the first category are 1482 people aged 16-25, and the participants of the second category are 1006 people professionally involved in tourism and education.

Respondents were asked to identify areas that could become the basis for the creation of educational tourism. Collecting and analyzing the responses highlighted the common features of Crete and Cyprus. According to the respondents, what connects both islands is: natural environment, history and tradition, religious heritage and gastronomy.

On this basis, eight educational tourism routes in Crete, six routes in Cyprus and three cross-border routes between Crete and Cyprus were developed. These routes consist of locations with many characteristics, but at the same time, several destinations are included in several routes with separate themes.

Kritsa village

It is worth looking at the results of this study, because the season is getting closer and some people are already preparing their sightseeing plans. Therefore, we are dropping these suggestions for routes in Crete, because they may be an inspiration for the next holiday on the island for some. For each of the routes, we provide the estimated time needed to cover the individual routes, estimated by the authors of the study. In our opinion, however, in the case of some routes, it is given with too optimistic assumptions or they simply take into account only the time of travel between individual points.

In the future, these routes will be included in the EduTourism educational platform, where they will be supplemented with rich audiovisual material and descriptions of all destinations.

1. Gastronomic tour (5.5 hours)

It includes places such as Amari in Rethymno prefecture, the village of Avdou in Heraklion prefecture, Kritsa in Lasithi prefecture and Moni Toplou monastery located near the city of Sitia. According to the authors of this study, visiting these places you can not only taste Cretan oil, wine or tsikoudia, but also participate in the preparation of local dishes.

Tasting room at Moni Toplou Monastery

2. Local crafts tour (approx. 5 hours)

It is to bring closer the places associated with traditional Cretan crafts. The artistic village of Berekynthos located in Souda near Chania was on the route. It is a village where you can visit 15 workshops and see craftsmen of various specialties at work. Other places on this route include the famous potters village of Margarites; the village of Thrapsano, where huge pithos are made, and the village of Avdou, which is also among the points on the gastronomic route.

Margarites - a village of potters

3. Religious heritage and natural environment tour (8.5 hours)

Historical religious buildings located among beautiful and unique nature are included here. The ancient temple of Agios Antonios in the Patsos Gorge, formerly dedicated to Hermes, is on the list. The second point is the monastery of Agios Antonios Vorontisi near Zaros, then the gorge of Knossanos (Archaniotiko) with an impressive aqueduct and the ruined monastery of Panagia tis Kardiotissa. The next points of this route are the Tsoutsouros Gorge in the Asterousia Mountains, the Toplou Monastery and the above-mentioned village of Avdou.

Aqueduct in the Knossanos Gorge

4. Historical and Cultural Tour of Heraklion and Lassithi Prefectures (3.5 hours)

On this route, visitors can see places of outstanding historical, folkloric and artistic significance for these regions. It includes such famous landmarks as the Toplou Monastery, the ancient city of Lato and the village of Kritsa. Lesser known places are the historic village of Lithines and the re-village of Avdou.

5. Historical route (4.5 hours)

It covers places from the Gramvousa fortress, through the historical village of Therisso, the Firkas fortress in Chania and the Venetian loggia and the city walls of Heraklion with the grave of Nikos Kazanzakis.

The city walls of Heraklion

6. Heraklion and Rethymno prefectures historical tour (2.5 hours)

The route is planned taking into account the Fortezza of Rethymno, the Melidoni Cave and the two historical towers from the 16th century located in the village of Maroulas. It is also worth visiting the village itself, which dates back to the 12th century and where many medieval remains have been preserved to this day. The Heraklion prefecture includes the Archaeological Museum located in Heraklion itself and the Minoan cemetery in Fourni located 17 km south of the capital of Crete.

7. Historical and natural route around the prefectures of Heraklion and Rethymno (4.5 hours)

It includes the Knossanos Gorge, the Rouvas forest with the village of Zaros, the picturesque but rather demanding Platania Gorge, the village of Margarites, the Melidoni Cave and the Kournas Lake, probably known to most.

Lake Kournas

8. Historical and cultural tour of the prefectures of western Crete (5 hours)

Here are also places that have already appeared on previous routes. Gramvousa Fortress Area, Therisso Gorge, Berekynthos Art Village, Maroulas Historic Tower Village, Melidoni Cave and Amari area.

Gramvousa Fortress

Gosia,  2023-04-20 20:10:21

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