The villages of the Sfakia Region

Argoules: The most Eastern village of the Sfakia region.

Askifou: Askifou is built in a small plateau situated between the high mountains of Castro and Fanari and Horefies, at an altitude of 750 meters. It has about 700 inhabitants.

It contains some smaller hamlets, like Kares, Amoudari, Goni, Petres, Kosto and Stravohari.

The name Askifou is said to derive from the ancient word Skifos, which means cup, as the circular plain looks like one. It is full of snow in winter and all green in Spring. The inhabitants are occupied with raising live stock, farming (grains, cereals, potatoes, grape), cheese and wine making and producing the Cretan liquor Raki (Sighoudia). There are many wallnut trees in the area, as well as fruit trees and honey flowers. Try the wallnuts, fruits and honey from here, it's the best you ever had!

There are several tavernas and rent rooms. In the village of Kares is a private War Museum. To the west of the plain, high up on some hills are the ruins of two Turkish castles.

On the way from Kares to Amoudari you can see the grand church dedicated to the two Sfakian saints Manolis and Ioannis. Over the years there have been many war battles in Askifou, since it is the gateway to the south coast. The Turks, the Egyptians and the Germans have fought here against the stubborn inhabitants, many of which lost their lifes. There are several monuments around the plain to remember these events.

Asfendou: A liitle before the village of Imbros to the east a small intersection ascends a concrete road up to the peak of Akones, with the telecommunication installations for connection between Crete and Africa. From here you have a view to the north, where you van see the Cretan Sea and to the south, where you see the Lybian Sea. Before reaching the peak, the road continues to the village of Asfendou, built on a small and evergreen plain, at an altitude of 770 meters, 8 km. from Imbros. It has 40 houses and during summer only a few farmers make their way up here. East of the village, in a small cave, many beautiful frescoes have been discovered. If you continue to the east for 6 km you reach the village of Kallikratis. In Asfendou you can also visit the Falaggari cave, which is very deep and contains a water basin.

You can walk down the Asfendou gorge towards Agios Giorgos/ Agios Nektarios, but this is a quit difficult walk. Ask for information locally first! The gorge itself will take you about 90 minutes, from 770 meters to 180 meters, so very steep.

Asfendou in Winter

Chora Sfakion: Is the capital of the Sfakia district. After the elections of October 1998 all the Sfakian villages now have one major, who resides in Chora Sfakion's little town hall.

In all of Sfakia only 2000 inhabitants remain, with 40.000 living elsewhere in Greece. It is the most sparsely populated area of Greece. About 500 of them live in Chora Sfakion. The village is actually split in 2 parts: the one around the old harbour, with most hotels and restaurants, and the part on the slopes of the east mountain, where most inhabitants have their houses. The small part down the harbour consists of 4 small roads, 1 boulevard with restaurants directly at the harbour, 1 backstreet with rent rooms, a supermarket, a bakery, a butcher and the square with Hotel Stavris, and 2 very small backstreets going up to the asphalt road that passes the village uphill towards Ilingas and Anopoli and on.

The village has a square for the busses, carrying all tourists coming back with the ferries from Samaria Gorge. They pass the village on the outside, so the quiet atmosphere is not destroyed. All ferries start and end at Chora Sfakion. There are regular bus connections to Vrises and Chania, and to Frangokastello and Plakias. On the square there are some tourist shops, a post office and Sfakia Tours rent cars. There is no bank in the village. Credit cards are accepted in 1 shop at the square. Several places change money and Eurocheques and Traveller' cheques.

Most people in the village are busy serving the tourists, others are fishers and sheppards. The village has a very nice village beach to the west, with other beaches also not far away: Ilingas and Sweet water beach to the west and two beaches more to the east.

The new harbour gives shelter to fishing boats and private boats, also boats from tourists.

The sun shines here all year around, making Sfakia the sunniest as the most southern part of Europe. Since there is hardly any industry, the sea water is the cleanest you can find. The drinking water comes from wells from the mountains, that mix their water with the sea. Food is very fresh and very natural. The people are very friendly and generous. Sounds like paradise, or what?

Frangokastello: It took its name from the Venetian castle built there in 1371. Here you find several tavernas, shops and apartments, like Apartments Stavris. Frangokastello lies in a natural plain boarding the sea, with many olive trees. Just behind the fortress there is a nice sandy beach, with rented beds and umbrellas. There water stays knee deep for about 100 meters, so a nice place for children to play.

In 1828 a celebrated battle for independence was fought against the Turks at Frangokastello. Hundreds of Sfakiots led by Hadzi Michali Daliani, a Greek adventurer attempting to spread the War of Independence from the mainland to Crete. Instead of hiding in the mountains, as most rebels did in this area, he stayed in the castle with his soldiers. Unfortunately, they were massacred and their martyrdom became legendary. Locals will claim that to this day, on or around the 17th of May, the ghosts of Daliani and his army march from the castle in the soft light of dawn. They are called 'drossoulites', or dew shadows.

Hadzi Michali Daliani

Imbros:

Small village with some tavernas and rent rooms. From here you can start descending the beautiful Imbros Gorge, ending in Komitades (about two hours), or start some mountain biking, towards Akones peak - Asfendou - Kallikratis - Assigonia.

The Imbros Gorge was till late sixties the only way to reach the south coast of Sfakia. It was a natural shelter against invaders, like the Turks and later the Germans. The gorge is as beautiful as the Samaria Gorge, only on a smaller scale. And it is by far more quiet, not having the crowds from there. Many wild trees can be seen, as well as a Venetian reservoir in the middle and a natural archway at the end. The gorge becomes very narrow on two spots, with spectacular views.