Lassithi Plateau

Location: Tzermiado

Spread over an area of 25 square kilometers, the Lassithi Plateau is one of the most fascinating elements of the topography of Crete, with a rich history dating back to the Neolithic period. The highly fertile plateau, endowed with an abundance of greenery, is watered by the melting snowcaps of the Dikti Mountain that form a natural fortification around it.

Although tourism has become an integral part of the local economy, vegetables and fruit trees are widely grown on the plateau. In fact, the plateau of Lassithi is one of the most fertile regions of Greece and gives high-quality products such as apples, pears, walnuts, cherries, and almonds.

Often described as the plateau of windmills, the plateau of Lassithi numbers nearly ten thousand windmills. The old windmills, with their torn white-cloth sails, make a spectacular sight set against the backdrop of Dikti Mountain.

While most of them have fallen to disuse, turning into signposts for local taverns, a few have been restored. Newer, modern windmills have also been constructed to get better use of the wind that blows often over the plateau. Another attraction of the area is the remarkable linear drainage channels created by the Venetians to transport water across the plateau.

One of the high points of the plateau is the Dikteon Andron, a cave explored by the British archaeologist David Hogarth. Standing at an elevated point on the plateau, the cave, according to Homer, was the place where Rhea hid baby Zeus, the supreme deity of the Greek pantheon, from his father Cronos to get raised there by a nymph. The cave has some interesting stalactites and stalagmites and remains of early cults.

There are also a number of churches and monasteries in the area that are worth visiting. Those include, among others, the church of the Holy Cross at Tzermiado and the famous Monastery of Panagia Kroustalenia in the village of Agios Konstantinos. The latter is the religious center of the Lassithi Plateau, where inhabitants meet to discuss issues of general interest.

The plateau of Lassithi is dotted with about twenty Greek villages, each more picturesque than the other. Tzermiado, Avrakontes, Lagu, Kasteli and Agios Georgios are the most famous.