The village of Paleochora
by Minoa.info / Juhani
Updated 15.03.2014
Paleochora (meaning old village) is a medium-sized
Cretan village on the south coast of Crete and there
are about 2000 residents so it is almost like a small town.
The village stands on the cape with a beach on both sides. The harbour is on the east side of the cape (on the left
in the picture). The tip of the cape is in its natural state
and there are also sheep out in the pasture. On the cape
there are the ruins of an old Venetian fortress.
On the west beach there is sand so it is good for swimming. The east beach consists of small stones.
In Paleochora there are plenty of small hotels and
good taverns.
The
main centre of the village is on the cape, between the west beach and
harbour. The west beach is the main beach and it is called Pachia Ammos.
To Paleochora the access is from the north over the mountains, from the
direction of the photo below.
From Paleochora there is access to Elafonisi,
though the road is in a bad condition; it is a gravel road that needs
renovation (you can see a photo taken from this road here).
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See the bigger panorama.
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Close by the beach road that runs from Paleochora towards Elafonisi there are plenty of untouched beaches and sandy spits
Along the beach road, about two kilometres west of Paleochora, there is a beautiful beach area called Grammeno (photo above), and a long spit pushes to the sea, there is plenty of room for sunbathing. The village is seen in the background on the slope and on the right side there is the fortress spit.
When arriving in Paleochora from the upper road, the first thing that is seen is the tip of the Paleochora cape. From the north side of the village it is possible to drive straight to the road that goes to Chania. Significant improvements have been made to that road. Like all other south coast villages Paleochora is also a couple of degrees warmer than the north coast villages. During the season there are two boats sailing day cruises from Paleochora to Elafonisi, weather permitting.
The centre of Paleochora is typical to Crete. The buildings are mainly homes. On the east side beach and main streets there are the taverns and shops. From Paleochora there is the possibility of hiking in the Irini gorge virtually every day.
In the picture there is one corner of the fortress ruins on the cape
The nights are peaceful in Paleochora and the streets in the centre are closed in the evenings and the taverns spread out onto the streets. A picture from the hotel balcony, which stands at the east end of the western beach. Waves hit the beach and the insects call out.
Paleochora is also a good starting point for hiking in the gorges. The Samaria Gorge takes only about one hour by bus. Returning to Paleochora is by boat via Sougia. The Irini gorge is also only about one hour’s drive by bus. In Paleochora the travel agencies sell the trips to hiking areas for almost every day of the week.
Additional Information:
BOOK A HOTEL in Paleochora.
