Lasithi Plateau

Lasithi Plateau is located in eastern Crete, in the regional unit of Lasithi. It lies at an average altitude of 840 m and is home to 18 small villages. Vineyards, olive trees and picturesque villages form the diverse landscape of the Plateau, making it one of the most beautiful natural scenery to explore while in Crete.

Our first stop of the day will be the historical monastery of Panagia Kera or Kardiotissa which is located just before the village of Kera. The monastery is dedicated to Virgin Mary and serves as a nunnery nowadays. As many places on the island, the monastery holds a myth: The icon of Kyra Kardiotissa was stolen three times by the Turks but every time the icon returned to the monastery. The third time, to avoid losing it again, they tied it to a marble column with a thick chain. Upon your visit, you can see both the column and the chain. The frescoes and the icons of the monastery date back to the 14^th century.

Then we head to the heart of Lasithi, passing by some breathtaking scenery, we will admire the white -sailed windmills that used to irrigate the land.

As we arrive at the famous village of Psychro, we will have a stop in a small family-run ceramic workshop. You can shop around while the owners teach us how to make our own pottery.

Next we arrive at the Dictean Cave, an ancient Minoan sacred cave where according to myths the goat Amalthea nurtured the infant Zeus when his mother Rhea tried to protect him from his father Kronnos. The cave was first excavated in 1886 and is filled with stalactites and stalagmites that will take your breath away.

We then arrive at Tzermiado, the capital of the villages in the plateau where we will have a chance to relax, have a meal in one of the local taverns and ponder upon all the things we have seen.

Lastly, we visit a small olive oil factory that is located in the village of Avdou, where the owners will walk us through the process and offer us a tasting of their products.