Agios Nikolaos, the capital of the Lassithi prefecture in Crete, is a vibrant town with plenty to do all year. Summer visitors know it for the many beaches, lakeside cafes, seaside tavernas, boat trips and the Little Train.
We love living in the village of Kritsa, and one reason is its proximity to Agios Nikolaos. Visits to the town include shopping in the farmer’s market on a Wednesday, coffee by the lake or sea, snacks/meals in a huge choice of different restaurants, summer visits to the outdoor cinema and a variety of coastal strolls.
Even if we are just in town to visit the bank, we park up above the marina and walk around the headland into town so it feels like a treat, not a chore.
In the cooler months a favourite destination is Agios Nikolaos bay, home of the small church that gives the town its name.
We last enjoyed this 6 km flat stroll in January and set off from the car park near the port. Locals and visitors alike enjoy the huge statue of Zeus in the guise of a bull carrying Europa that has pride of place at the edge of the parking area.
Zeus, the father of all gods, fell in love with a beautiful Phoenician princess named Europa. He took the form of a white bull, as only gods can, and approached her while she was playing with her friends. Europa caressed the friendly animal and for some strange reason climbed on his back. With his trick complete, Zeus the bull rushed into the sea. He carried her away to Crete, where he regained his human form and fathered Minos, the first king of Crete.
After leaving the car park we turned right, and walked past the port and along the waters edge, keeping right until we were on the junction at the small bridge by the lake. Here we turned right again to continue on the pavement towards Ammoudi.
NOTE: People who want buses to Elounda must now go uphill to the main bus station, although this may change at some point. Cars can no longer turn right here as a one way system is operating. Vehicles enter the one way system on the coastal road from Ammoudi. Vehicles leaving the port/town centre drive up the steep road that exits by the hospital. Here is a film clip courtesy of Anatolh on line to clarify the road change.
We walked the length of this path to Ammoudi beach and were pleased to find kafenions open for a coffee en route.
As these two photos show, it is a good path no matter the weather but perhaps a sunny day is the better option.
On reaching Ammoudi turn right – this means walking behind the beach and you need to take care on the road.
Keep following the road, there is a path on the left, until you see Agios Nikolaos bay on your right.
Cross the beach with the children’s playground and turn right to continue on the far side of the bay.
Soon after you join this road look out for steps rising beside a bar called Spilia. At the top of these steps is the small church dedicated to Agios Nikolaos.
I’ve yet to be in Crete on this church’s name day, 6th December, when it’s a local holiday for the town.
Continue to walk along the footpath.
To your left is a popular hotel complex, so I imagine this is a very busy path during the season. In winter it is a tranquil spot and the sheltered bay gives safe mooring to the boats that ferry people to Spinalonga during the summer.
Land’s End!
Here we clambered down to a small sheltered beach to enjoy our picnic and a look back at Agios Nikolaos. We looked around the corner, towards Elounda, but couldn’t walk further as the hotel had shut off the footpath. Never mind, we’d had our stroll in fine weather, but dark clouds building over the mountains gave us reason to step it out back to the town.
There is so much to Agios Nikolaos – I’ll feature more aspects in future posts.
I’m proud to announce publication of my latest book on 27th July 2019, and this time its non-fiction.
The first February weekend in Crete saw the weather turn from snowy wet winter to spring. For us this meant one thing, head to the mountains. Our friend and walking guide, Phil is very keen on Minoan history and he chose a fabulous hike ending at the ancient site of Kastro. This was an especially interesting route for us as we can see these mountains from our balcony in Kritsa.
At the top of the path we crossed a ‘saddle’ to look down the other side of the mountain where we saw many other tempting paths. This time we headed left to Kastro. Unlike many Minoan sites we’ve visited this one has good signage to explain the remains and provide insight to the lifestyle.
January in Crete has been much wetter than in previous visits at this time of year. As soon as we see a brighter day forecast we plan a walk, never knowing when we’ll get the next opportunity. This fabulous walk was in the company of good friends, Hilary and Phil and as he is a walking guide we benefited from a lesser known start to this famous walk. For road directions from Kritsa 
Here Phil ponders whether to take us on a shorter or longer route. Of course the longer option suited us all. If you would like a personal guide for walks or excursions in the Lassithi area contact me via the form below and I’ll pass the information on.
This photo shows the distant snowy tops of the Dikti Mountains. How lucky we are to have the health to climb to such wonderful places.
Armed with our book, Circular Walks in East Crete we drove over the hills to the village of Kalamafka where our Three Church walk started.
How sad, well-intentioned internal repairs have ruined frescos.
From here we looked across to the rock edifice topped with our destination church, yet another Timios Stavros, meaning Holy Cross. Alan spent ages with his binoculars trying to see the path to the top… he couldn’t so we set off again. We soon found ourselves enjoying a spell of easy walking along a gravel track. For the second time on this walk, the route took us away from our destination.
The next village is Kato Loumas where we parked near the first church. As we drove through Elounda we spotted Kritsa friends Hilary and Phil, so it wasn’t too surprising to hear them toot their car horn as they passed by while we were donning our walking boots.
After the mandrake I laughed at this gurning rock, surely a candidate for a dose of the magic potion.
Kritsa, at the heart of it all 