Crete Travel Guide

We complete our tour of the western part of the Prefecture of Rethymno by leaving the town in a southerly direction, towards the hinterland.

After driving through olives groves and oak forests we reach Armeni, at an altitude of 380m. In the vicinity, 167 shaft tombs hewn out of the rock have been found.

After 19km we come to a turning on our right, which leads to the village of Ayios Vasileios  and the Kotsyfou Gorge. The road straight ahead leads thrugh the wonderful Kourtaliotiko Gorge, by which the Kourtaliotikos River passes between Kouroupa Mountain and Xiro Oros Mountain.

As we emerge from the gorge, shortly before the village of Asomatos, a road to the left leads through a verdant landscape to Preveli Monastery, which  stands high on a bare rock looking out to the sea.

The Monastery, dedicated to St John the Divine, was founded in the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Like almost all the monasteries in Crete, it had an important part to play in the island’s struggle for freedom.In the Monastery is a gold crucifix studded with pieces of the True Cross and precious stones which is believed to be wonderworking.

A footpath sets out across the rocks from the Monastery and leads us to one of the most idyllic natural settings in south Crete, Preveli beach, where the Kourtaliotikos River runs into the sea.

We return to Asomatos and continue our itinerary, hading left. Along this route we will come to Myrthios, a village on a naturally amply theatrical site with a view towards the Libyan Sea, and Plakias, which has developed into a popular tourist resort.

From here, short trips can be made by caique to Frangokastello, Preveli Monastery and Ayia Galini. To the north-east of Myrthios is the Kotsyfou Gorge, between Kouroupa Mountain and Kryoneritis Mountain.

At the end of the gorge the road passes through the mountain villages of Ayios Ioannis and Ayios Vasileios, the latter of which gave its name to the entire sub prefecture, and then join the road back to Rethymno.