Οutdoor Αctivities - Ecotours Crete Greece

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You can follow the route either on foot, or with donkeys. It's relatively easy and it has a lot of interesting places to see. Axos is a place that is still inhabited, and whose history extends from the Minoan times to the present, that is, 3,500 years. It was one of the big cities of Crete, not only in Antiquity, but also during the Roman times and the Byzantine era. There was a king ruling this city, and in this place there have been discovered a lot of ancient objects, as well as many coins, that are now exhibited in the Museums in Iraklion and Rethimno.

There are a lot of ruins - memorials on the Acropolis and around the village. It used to be a prosperous city during the Byzantine times, and there are a lot of Byzantine churches there, some of them in good condition, like St. Irini, St. George, St. John, Virgin Mary, the Crucified etc.; there are 30 churches in total, 10 of which in good condition.

In the village, apart from visiting the monuments, you can take a walk through the village and familiarize yourselves with the local way of life, and get to know the inhabitants too, who are very hospitable and friendly, their main occupation being farming and cattle-breading; there are small stores for shopping and many coffee houses, shops selling souvenirs, mainly woven textiles. You can also see a loom; in the old days, there was a loom in every house.

Some of the monuments you have to see are St. Irini, St. John and St. George, old small Byzantine churches dating back to the 8th century; the wall paintings in St. John's church date back to the 14th century. On the hill of the Acropolis, apart from the ancient ruins, you can admire the fantastic view and the beautiful flowers, especially in spring. If you are not tired, you can continue towards the wonderful cave of Sfedoni where you will find a guide to show you around.

On your return, stay in the village and pass through the narrow streets in the neighborhood.

A. Stop Hohlidovrese (Snail-faucet): a natural spring with water all year round. The water is clear and drinkable; it is used to water the small nearby gardens and trees. In a short distance over the spring, there are ancient vaulted tombs called the Hellenic Houses.

B. Stop The Village of Axos

C. Stop Heading towards Rethimno, passing by the settlement Kounalos (2km from Axos), you can visit the Monastery of Diskouri, which is 1km away from Kounalos. It is a historical monastery, where the inhabitants of the region swore to the picture of St' George in order to solve their differences. The characteristic phrase of the oath was "Ni ma Ze kai amnogo sou, prama den katexo" which means "By Zeus yes, I swear that I don't know anything". People swore to the picture of St' George "by Zeus" that they didn't know anything, a custom possibly of ancient origins. Usually, those who knew something, but didn't want to speak, avoided going to the church, because tradition had it that the Saint was not joking when it came to lying. In the Monastery of Diskouri you can also see the old olive press that used to work and still works manually and with the help of animals.

D. Stop Return through Kounalos towards Veni, a small village where inhabitants occupy themselves with farming, and where you can find lovely fruits and vegetables. You can also see an old mill that was used to grind wheat and which worked with the help of water.

E. Stop In the direction of Enagron, taking the dirt road and at a distance of about 800m., you will come across a small church called Sts Apostles on the top of the hill. The church was built in the Byzantine times, and has been recently renovated. The view from there is amazing. Return to ENAGRON. Total distance of about 7 km., duration from 2 to 5 hours, or for as long as you want.

This route is mainly in nature. Moving down towards the north, we pass by many small plots with trees and vegetables, but also wild vegetation. In point 1, we find the little bridge in the river- in the old days there was water running all year round, but now as it's been used to water the land in the villages, there is little water found in the summer.

We go up the road where in point 2 we see ENAGRON and the nature underneath, we go up through olive groves and vineyards in point 3, at the top of the slope we see the Monastery, but also the sea and Psiloritis into the horizon, as far as the eye can see. Throughout the route, you will come across many flowers and aromatic plants. You reach the Monastery, where reconstruction works are being carried out these days. It's one of the historical monasteries of Crete, a revolutionists' headquarters during the Turkish domination, that's why it has been burnt down two times by the Turks. You can return either following points 5-6-7-8 through the Gorge, or following points 5-9-10-8.

You can have a coffee at the small village of Livada. We will be using the dirt road throughout the route, which is traffic-free, apart from rural trucks that might sometimes pass by. If you have no problem walking in nature, we strongly recommend this route to you.

The main occupation in the region used to be stockbreeding; herders grazed mainly sheep, or goats in the summer up in the mountains where they had little circular vaulted stone-houses called MITATA next to the sheepcote.

There, every herder had the necessary raw materials to perform basic activities like Cheese-making and Cooking; they were also using the MITATA to sleep in.

There are still a lot of them in the area, many of which are still being used.

In the suggested route, you will have a chance to admire the amazing nature and the sublime view from the top; you will reach the Mitato of the Euripidi family, and if we arrange it in advance, you can watch the herder's activities (milking, cheesemaking), or even organize a meal in the Mitato.

This is also a route in nature through cultivated fields and wild flora; many plots, many different trees, olive trees and vineyards.

Walking along the river, we reach Faratsi, an old small village, now almost deserted; if you meet Mr Henderis and his wife they will offer you raki and water.

From this point onwards, we either go back through the same road, or we continue along the turnpick until we reach the main road to Rethimno; from there, we take the road to the east and through Kounalos-Veni- Axos we return either on foot or by car from point 4.