Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Getting There & Away
There are up to three buses daily from Iraklio (€3.80, one hour) and two buses Monday
to Friday from Rethymno (€5.50, 1¼ hours).
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Mt PsiloritisΟρος Ψηλορείτης
At 2456m, Mt Psiloritis, also known as Mt Idi, is Crete's highest mountain. At its eastern
base is the
Nida Plateau
(1400m), a wide, fertile expanse reached via a paved 21km-long
road from Anogia past several
mitata
(round, stone shepherd's huts) and the turnoff to
weekends)
. At the top, a simple taverna offers refreshment and spartan rooms (€25). It
gets chilly up here, even in summer, so bring a sweater or light jacket.
From the parking lot, it's a 1km uphill walk to the
Ideon Cave
. Although just a huge
and fairly featureless hole in the ground, Ideon has sacred importance in mythology as
the place where Zeus was reared by his mother Rhea, protected from the clutches of his
child-devouring father Cronos.
Back on the plateau itself, you can make out a sprawling landscape sculpture called
Andartis - Partisan of Peace
that looks like an angel when seen from above and com-
memorates Cretan WWII resistance fighters.
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SpiliΣπίλι
POP 700
Spili (
spee
-lee) is a pretty mountain village and shutterbug favourite thanks to its cobbled
streets, big old plane trees and flower-festooned whitewashed houses. A convenient
lunch stop on coast-to-coast trips, its surrounding mountains are also a haven for hikers.
In town, a restored
Venetian Fountain
spurts (potable) water from 25 stone lion heads
into a long trough. Minor attractions include a teensy church museum, a folklore mu-
seum and the vast modern monastery complex at the north end of town.
Sleeping & Eating
Heracles
PENSION $