Aghios Nikolaos - Kritsa - Lato -
back to Aghios Nikolaos - Elounda -
Plaka - Spinalonga.

At a distance of 11 kilometres southwest
of Aghios Nikolaos lies the picturesque
village of Kritsa, built amphitheatrically on
a hill. It is renowned for the quality of its
handwoven articles.
About one kilometre before we come to
the village, at Logari, we find the
church of Panaghia or Kera. It has
three naves: the central one is dedicated
to the Dormition of the Virgin and
the other two to Saint Anne and Saint
Anthony respectively.

The church has very important and
well-preserved wall-paintings dating
from the 14th and 15th centuries,
interesting from the point of view of
themes and style.
Three kilometres to the north of Kritsa,
at Kontaratos, lie the ruins of the ancient
Doric city of Lato Hetera. It flourished
between the 7th and the 3rd centuries
BC and was protected by two acropoles,
between which it lay. This archaeological
site was excavated by the French School
of Archaeology, and includes an agora, a
number of public buildings and several
houses.
We return to Aghios Nikolaos by the same
route.From there we drive north, along
the coast, which attracts many visitors
and where a number of hotels have been
built.

Opposite us we can see the long and
narrow Spinalonga peninsula, separa-
ted from the mainland by a canal (Poros
canal - opened in 1897 by French sailors). Today, a bridge spans the canal.

To the east of the seaside village of
Plaka and exactly opposite the north-
ern point of the peninsula, lies the
rocky islet of Spinalonga or Kalydon.
In 1579, on this little island and above
the ruins of the ancient acropolis, the
Venetians built a strong fortress to pro-
tect the harbour of Elounda. Ruins of
this fortress, which is one of the most
important in Crete and was plentifully
supplied with ammunition and cannon,
still survive today.

The Spinalonga fortress, together with
those of Souda and Gramvousa, were
the only ones on the whole island which
did not fall into the hands of the Turks
when the latter took Crete in 1669.
These fortresses remained under Vene-
tian domination for another half cen-
tury or so, and only in 1715 did they ca-
pitulate and pass into Turkish hands.
Caiques link the islet of Spinalonga
with Aghios Nikolaos, Elounda and Plaka.

Further north, opposite the northern-
most point of the Spinalonga peninsula
and its fortified islet, lies the fishing vil-
lage of Plaka (14 kms. from Aghios Ni-
kolaos). Here, there are tavernas offer-
ing fresh fish and seafood. Plaka is at a
distance of 5 kilometres from Elounda.