The White Houses
Makriyialos, Crete
Activities
- Makriyialos is the prettiest town on this stretch of
coast, with a picturesque fishing harbour, traces of Minoan and
Roman settlements, a wide choice of waterfront tavernas and a
bustling Friday market (food, clothes, utensils)
- Nearby is a gently sloping, sandy beach with watersports
in summer (water skiing, wind surfing, 'banana rides', para sailing
and sailboat hire)
- Take a caique (fishing boat) to the uninhabited
island of Koufonisi (daily trips in summer, 45 mins each way),
where the ancients farmed murex shellfish for their intense
purple dye; today there are scanty ruins of a theatre and temple,
and a simple café on the sandy beach
- Hikers can explore marked, pine-shaded tracks through
the Pefki valley, a few miles east of Makriyialos; climb the rocky
1500-metre summit of Afendis Estravromenos; or trek through the
breathtaking Thripti gorge that gashes through its flanks (start
from Orino, 30 mins drive away)
- Hire a car and explore the stark and stunning far east
of Crete (old maps may not show the new road): start at the sleepy
town of Sitia, continue past Toplou monastery (forbidding exterior,
welcoming monks), to the tropical palm beaches at Vai (crowded in
summer) or Palekastro (less crowded, but less palmy); and
don’t miss the breathtaking ‘Valley of the Dead’
and Minoan ruins at Zakros
- The buzzing north-coast town of Ayios Nikolaos, the swanky resorts of Elounda, the leper island of Spinalonga and the mountain plateau of Lasithi are all feasible as day-trips from here
Activities on site or nearby include:
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Sailing
- Swimming
- Windsurfing
