16. IERAPETRA - ZAKROS (inland route) (see Map)

From Ierapetra to Zakros

If you take a look at the map of Crete, you will see a central circular route at the eastern end of the island. The route starts from Ierapetra, crosses a plain replete with olive trees that opens to the north (the narrowest point on Crete) until it reaches the northern coast and then turns eastward to Sitia, where it turns again southward coming to the southern coast at the village of Analipsi and continues along the shore returning to Ierapetra.

This circular route attracts most of the traffic, but the interesting part is precisely the mountainous region enclosed by it. Here lie two rocky massifs, Thripti with its summit at Afentis Estavromenos (1,476 m) and Orno with its summit at Askordalia (1,237 m). Their slopes are covered in bushes, herbs and wild flowers with a few surviving islands of pine forest that once thrived everywhere. On the highlands formed between the peaks are nested a score or so of poor hamlets that subsist on animal breeding and small-scale farming (mostly grapes) on the limited, terraced ground. Most of the roads connecting these villages are unpaved (D3), although a good tarmac road does exist. Let’s see them from the start.

You set out from Ierapetra on the road to Agios Nikolaos and 6 kilometres later you leave the main road by turning right and heading for Ano Chorio. Once in this village you may be confused by the maze of minor roads, but try to reach the village’s eastern end, where a little church marks the beginning of our route. If you get lost, ask a native for the road to Thripti. Having managed to find the start of the dirt road set your trip odometer to zero and follow Road Book 11. Beyond Ano Chorio the road climbs abruptly to 500 m and offers a panoramic view of the vast olive grove covering the isthmus between Ierapetra and Pachia Ammos. Farther on you ride through one of the last remaining pine woods in Crete and soon you enter the mountain village of Thripti. To be exact, you come to a crossroads at the village’s south and where you see a large walnut tree and a small blue sign bearing a white arrow that instructs you to turn left. If you wish to visit the village, heed the sign, otherwise keep on straight ahead to continue Route 16. The few dwellers of Thripti migrate up here in spring and summer to tend their vines, and in winter time they return to the lowlands, leaving their village totally uninhabited.

One of the rare permanent residents of this area is the large family of shepherd Manolis Vardas, who keep their hut and sheepfold two kilometres east of Thripti village, on the road to the village of Orino.

Two parents, ten children, a hale and hearty grandfather, twenty beautiful sheepdogs and a flock of 400 sheep make a whole village by themselves! If you have room to spare in your luggage, stop and buy a head of galotyri (hard salty sheep’s milk cheese that is cured for a month in small wicker baskets) or soft mizithra (low fat fresh white cheese made, naturally, of sheep’s milk).

About 800 metres beyond this sheepfold (to the east) you will see a passable dirt road branching off to the right (south). This road was opened in 1993 and climbs to the peak of Thripti, Afendis Estavromenos (1,476 m). If you are lucky to be there on a clear day, the view from the top is unlimited in all directions. Resuming your journey eastward you will soon reach the mountainous village of Orino.

The cindery remains of the pine forest that once flourished here scar the landscape and your soul until you come to the village of Stavrochori. Here you head north on the asphalt road (A3) which offers enjoyable riding through the picturesque villages of Chrisopigi, Skordilo and Achladia, and ends at the village of Piskokefalo.

If you prefer to continue on tarmac, you can turn north at this point toward Sitia and proceed eastward following Route 21. Should you prefer, however, to enjoy dirt road routes on the magnificent Ziros Plateau, turn south. Until you reach the beginning of the dirt road you can enjoy sporty riding on the well-designed road (A2) up to the village of Epano Episkopi. Here you turn left (east) at the cross-roads that is posted with an English/Greek sign which says Ziros. This road (A4) is very dangerous as it is narrow and full of tricky bends. As soon as you arrive at the village of Nea Presos you will see a large English/Greek sign marked “Praesos Archaeological Site” and pointing to a dirt road in a northerly direction. Ride through the village fields (small signs mark all junctions) and 1,800 metres later you will come upon a sign informing you that you have reached the archaeological site of Praesos.

Resuming your trip south from Nea Presos on the road (A3) toward Chandras, shortly before entering the latter village you will notice on your left the remains of a medieval settlement. Some 500 metres before Chandras a dirt road (D1) branches off to the left and then left again at the next junction and leads directly to the ruins, although you can get to this point by riding through Chandras proper.

Most houses of this medieval settlement have collapsed, but amongst them still proudly stands a tower, whose vaulted gate and first floor survive today, although not for long, as it has been abandoned to the ravages of time without the slightest maintenance. The only building that has enjoyed maintenance is the church of St. George (15th century) at the hilltop, with enough visible traces of its original frescoes. A bit north of the ghost village, next to the dirt road, lies its monumental stone fountain, cool water still flowing out.

From Chandras follow the only dirt road (D1) coursing in a north-easterly direction, in order to enter the Ziros Plateau, an isolated highland region hosting ten or so poor hamlets, ideal for off-road explorations. The road passes outside the village of Katelionas but it is worth detouring briefly just to travel back a century in time! Then you pass through the village of Sitanos, where again it is worth detouring on the dirt roads (D3) branching off to the east just to travel even further back in time to the era of Venetian rule, when villagers used to live isolated and self-reliant in the most inaccessible places, seeking peace and quiet. A little before the village of Karidi turn east. Following a wonderful landscape of strange solitary brown rocks, you will arrive at Adravasti village, destitute but proud of its traditions, from which you continue south towards Zakros.

Source of the information on this page : “Unexplored Crete”, Road Editions. For more guidebooks and maps of Greece, click here.