Sitia and Rictus Gorge

The city of Sitia is about a one hour and twenty minutes from Myrtos (or about 2 hours from Heraklion) and the drive is stunning.  As you proceed up in to the mountains and then across top, you are treated to some amazing views of the Agean Sea. 

About 30 minutes before you reach the port town of Sitia, you can take a detour to Richtis Gorge which sits within the limits of the UNESCO Global Geopark of Sitia.  This is a lush jungle hike that culminates in a specatacular waterfall over 65 ft (20m) high.  There are actually two ways to approach the falls.  

First is parking at the top of the gorge and hiking down (1-1.5 hours), the second is driving down to the Richtis Gorge beach and hiking in from there (about 20 mins).  Since we had little ones who would rather go to the dentist than hike, we opted for the latter, but it was still a great experience.  

The descent to the beach is not for the faint of heart and while you don't need 4 wheel drive, the road is narrow and rocky and you will need a steely resvolve. 

If you survive the drive and make it to the parking lot, you will have to pay the nominal entrance fee of 3 Euros for anyone 16 and older. Then enjoy the 20 minute, relatively flat hike to the waterfall. There are wooden bridges and staircases to traverse which makes it especially fun. 

After retracing our steps to our car, we briefly stopped at the Richtis Gorge beach, but it looked way too rough to swim so we contined on to Sitia.  The drive back up did not seem as treacherous as the way down, perhaps because we knew that if anyone came driving at us from the other direction (which thannkfully didn't happen on either the way up or down) we would be on the inside and not running dangerously close to the cliff edge. 

Sitia has a gorgeous port with a promendae of restaurants.  We chose one and the food was decent, if a little pricey - at least by Myrtos standards. We tried the escargots which, if I am being honest, I didn't much care for, nor did the rest of my crew. 

We wandered around a bit through town, hitting a gelato kiosk and a pastry shop, but it was hot and we wanted to get to a beach to cool down.  There are several beaches nearby including Sitia Beach and the well known Vai Beach.  But a local restauranteur we had met the prevoius week at his taverna in the hills above Myrtos, said that Vai was very touristy and crowded and suggested we head instead to Hiona which boasted long expansse of white sandy bottomed shallow water and less crowds, which suited us fine.

The beach itself was a bit rocky which is par for the course in this part of Crete, but importantly, the water was shallow and sandy with no rocks which made it easier on the kids' feet.  There are a couple of tabernas nearby if you want to eat and there is also some decent snorkeling around the rocks at the other end of the beach. 

If you elect to stop at Richtis Gorge on the way up, you will take the western route so on your way back why not take the eastern route (especially if you go to Vai or Hiona which will be much shorter) to see a different view on the way back. 

While there are many beaches in Crete and I wouldn't say that Hiona was a top draw, I definitely think the spectacular drive to Richtis Gorge and the waterfall itself (even in summer when it was not fully flowing) was definitely worth the drive and cost of gas.  The falls was certainly one of my Crete highlights.