Preveli Palm Beach, Kourtaliotiko Gorge Waterfalls and Plakias (South Rethymno)

Just thirty-five kilometres south of Rethymno across the narrowest waist of central Crete (40 minutes by car or direct morning KTEL bus from Rethymno station), the northern landscape gives way to roaring mountain gorges, a historic monastery perched above the Libyan Sea, and a tropical-looking river canyon shaded by wild Cretan palm trees.

1. Kourtaliotiko Gorge & Its 5 Roaring Waterfalls (On the Road to Preveli)

As the road from Rethymno approaches the south coast, it slices straight through the 3-kilometre limestone chasm of Kourtaliotiko Gorge (named after the clapping sound, kourtala, that the fierce north wind makes when funnelling through its 500-metre cliffs). Park at the stone arch gate beside the road and walk 10 minutes down the stone staircase past the tiny rock chapel of Agios Nikolaos to the canyon floor, where five icy subterranean rivers burst straight out of the vertical rock face into an emerald canyon pool.

2. Preveli Monastery (Moni Preveli) & Preveli Palm Beach (Finikas)

Where the Kourtaliotiko (Megalopotamos) River exits the mountains into the Libyan Sea, a natural sandbar forms a 1.5-kilometre freshwater emerald lagoon lined on both banks by a dense wild forest of endemic Cretan Date Palms (Phoenix theophrasti), allowing you to swim in cold, fresh river water under the palms on one side of the sandbar, and in warm salty sea water on the other.

• Two Ways to Reach Preveli Beach (Cliff Steps vs Boat from Plakias/Damnoni):
  1. For the Famous Postcard Viewpoint (Upper Car Park): drive past historic 17th-century Preveli Monastery to the upper cliff car park, and descend the 400 stone steps (15 to 20 mins down, 25 to 30 mins back up), pausing at the top for the landmark aerial-angle photo of the palm river meeting the sea.
  2. Zero-Stair Option: park at flat Amoudi or Damnoni / Plakias beach nearby and hop a 10-minute boat or walk the flat 10-minute eastern path from Drimiskiano Amoudi.

3. Plakias, Damnoni & Kalypso "Pirate Fjord" (Karavos)

Ten minutes west of Preveli lies the laid-back seaside bay of Plakias: besides its huge 1.3-kilometre sandy beach, drive five minutes around the headland to Kalypso (Karavos) Beach, a dramatic, 5-metre-wide vertical granite rock cleft filled with 20-metre-deep sapphire water where you dive off concrete sunbathing decks into a natural snorkelling aquarium.