Seli Ambelou pass · 20 minutes
Photo stop at the restored stone windmills; the Lasithi basin opens below.
Dikteon Cave (Cave of Zeus) · 85 minutes
Descent into the mythological birth-cave. Underground lake, stalactite forest, Bronze Age votive deposits.
Lunch, Agios Georgios · 90 minutes
Family taverna with mountain specialties.
Krasi village & the ancient plane tree · 30 minutes
Coffee beside one of Europe's oldest plane trees (~2,400 years, 22m trunk circumference).
Of note: Hesiod placed the birth of Zeus in this cave. Rhea hid her infant son here to save him from his father Cronos, who was swallowing his children; the Kouretes, young warriors, clashed their shields at the cave mouth to drown out his cries. Archaeologists have recovered Bronze Age bronzes wedged into the rocks as votive offerings.
Lasithi Plateau & the Cave of Zeus