Photo Safari Tour in South Crete

Askifou village is surrounded by the White Mountains and resembles a giant cup, a skyphos in Ancient Greek, whence the name Askifou. Many thousands of years ago, the Askifou Plateau was probably a large lake. In 1821 there was a battle here between the Turks and the Sfakians, resulting in victory for the locals.

Imbros village is located at an altitude of 780 meters and is at the South end of Askyfou, Roman architectural structures have been found in the village. Its name is derived from the small community of Imbrian immigrants that arrived in the area in 1479, the year the island of Imbros was occupied by the Ottoman rule. Imbros Gorge starts just south of the village, during World War II, twelve thousand soldiers evacuated the island walking through the gorge to the south coast of Crete under aeroplane fire, there they were taken by the Royal Navy to Egypt. Imbros Gorge, is an 11 km long canyon located near Hora Sfakion in southern Crete and Samariá Gorge, its narrowest part has 1.60 m and it ends at the village of Kommitádes.

We will have a short stop for photos outside of the fortress of Frangokastelo , where historic events took place during the period of the Venetian rule, as well as during the subsequent period of the Ottoman rule. The castle was built by the Venetians in 1371-74 as a garrison to impose order on the rebellious Sfakia region, to deter pirates and to protect Venetian nobles and their properties. On 17 May 1828 a celebrated battle was fought at Frangokastello, hundreds of locals and Epirotes led by Hatzimichalis Dalianis, a Greek patriot from Epirus attempting to spread the Greek war of independence from the mainland to Crete, occupied the castle, but were besieged by the Turks and slaughtered. According to tradition around the anniversary of the battle each May, shadows of the armed Cretan and Epirote soldiers who lost their lives there seem to march towards the fortress around dawn, these are called Drosoulites, and have been explained as a meteorological phenomenon.

Plakias costal village,its the ideal place to make our stop for lunch or swimming. Plakias is a coastal settlement at the southern Crete, 40 km south of Rethymno, with 237 permanent residents, built at the cove of the bay of the same name on a wonderful sandy beach, 1300 m long, between the capes Stavros and Kako Mouri, that is ideal for swimming and sea sports. While taking your romantic barefoot walk on the sandy beach you encounter the magnificent sand flowers. The Sea Daffodil is one of the most beautiful of the wild Cretan flowers. It is also called Sand Daffodil, Sea Lily and Sand Lily and it will mark your unique Cretan holiday.

Kourtaliotiko Gorge is located 22km south of Rethymno and has a length of 3km. It is one of the most spectacular natural attractions of Rethymnon. It starts from the village Koxare and flows between the mountains Kouroupis (984 m) and Xiro Oros (Dry Mountain – 904m). The huge cliffs of the canyon reach a height of 600 meters and are full of openings and caves, where significant fauna species live. The canyon is crossed by the Kourtaliotis River which flows up to Lake Preveli, after merging with Frati Gorge. The springs of Kourtaliotis are one of the nicest attractions of the gorge.

Free time at the old town of Rethymno city. The town still maintains its old aristocratic appearance, with its buildings dating from the 16th century, arched doorways, stone staircases, Byzantine and Hellenic-Roman remains, the small harbor and its narrow streets which is an ideal place for a relaxed walk around the cafes and the little stores with view to the light house.