Chania Kalami

General information

Just 10 km east of Chania Town and close to Souda is the miniscule village of Kalami, made up of just a handful of houses, a small kafeneion, and fewer than 100 inhabitants. The village is built at the foot of the Izzedin Fortress, which explains its absence from any Venetian and Ottoman records, as the Fortress was only built in 1872.

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Kalami’s main attraction, apart from the Fortress, is its beach, which can be reached following a 60-meter descent along a road branching northwest from the village’s center. Just as small as the village itself, its isolated location makes it quite popular despite its gravelly coast and rocky seafloor. A cantine offers refreshments here, while a rather long pier presents itself as a diving board for more daring beachgoers.
When the waters are calm and clear, the view from the hill above can reveal the remains of the half-completed Venetian porporella, an underwater jetty 261 meters long, which the Venetians intended to construct to direct approaching ships closer to Souda Fortress and its cannons.

More about Kalami

The area around the village is colored a lush green, either by the hill’s natural treeline or by the substantial agricultural activity further out from the village, making for a tranquil spot for a swim, a Greek coffee at the kafeneion, or a history lesson at Izzedin.

Kalami’s vicinity includes the ruins of ancient Aptera as well as the Aptera Turkish Castle, as well as a couple of machine-gun installations left behind by the Germans from their occupation of Crete during World War II.
To the north, across the sea, one can see Souda Fortress, while to the south one can find the Kyliaris River and the village of Kalyves.