Explore Crete island

Chora Sfakion - Crete, GREECE

Chora Sfakion is famous as one of the centers of the resistance against the occupying forces of both the Venetians and the Turks. The bulk of the White mountains to the north, combined with the rocky beaches on the south, helped the locals keep their freedom against all invaders. Anopolis a village near Chora Sfakion is the birth place of one of the most celebrated Cretan revolutionaries Daskalogiannis. After the Battle of Crete during World War II, the locals helped the New Zealand and Australian army escape from here on the night of May 31, 1941.Hora Sfakion prospered during the Venetian and Turkish occupation and up to the 18th century carried on a flourishing trade with its own small fleet. Near the beautiful Sfakian village of Komitades is the Church of Panagia Thymiani where the revolution of 1821 begun.  

At the village of Loutro is the ruined "chancellery" where the first revolutionary government of 1821 met. Some of the buildings in Chora Sfakion preserved today remind us of the blood-drenched and heroic history. Chora Sfakion is an ideal base for mountainous and sea excursions to the villages and sandy beaches of southern Crete. Besides the wonderful plateau of Askifou, the village and gorge of Imbros and the traditional and historical village of Komitades, there are plenty of beaches accessible from Sfakia. The more adventurous visitor can follow the European hiking footpath E4 which crosses Crete. There are few hotels and rooms to rent, taverns with local food (local cheese pies "sfakianes pites" are recommended) and bars. Apart from the outstanding natural beauty of the indented rocky shoreline, Hora Sfakion is also worth visiting for the small Venetian fortress built there in 1526 as part of a defensive system of towers and fortresses later taken over by the Turks.

In Chora Sfakion itself there is a very pleasant pebble beach at the western end of the village know as Vrissi (‘spring’). Fresh water from the mountains trickles into the sea here and provides the village with its water supply. A 20-minute walk along the road towards Anopolis brings you to the stone beach at Ilingas, where there is also a taverna and some caves for shade. The footpath to Loutro crosses the large and famous Sweetwater beach, in Greek Glika Nera, so called because fresh water lies just beneath the sand and can be reached easily with a little digging. For those who prefer not to walk along this path, a fishing boat takes passengers to Sweetwater from Chora Sfakion every morning during the season and returns in the late afternoon. There is a small taverna on the beach. To the east of Chora Sfakion, there are several beaches which can be reached by foot – Amoudi, which is down a track just before the large Vritomartis hotel, and Filaki, which is after the hotel along a dirt road. A road leading off the main road in Nomikiana takes you to secluded Vatalos beach, where a taverna operates in the summer. And finally there is a large sandy beach at Frangokastello, where the sea is shallow and suitable for small children.