Crete island 1150 meters - Katharo Plateau, Kritsa village - Part 2

1150 meters - Katharo Plateau, Kritsa village, Crete island - Part 2
1150m. Κρήτη | Οροπέδιο Καθαρού - Διαδρομή - Βόσκηση προβάτων | Μέρος 2ο
1150m. Crete island | Katharo Plateau - The Shepherd place - Sheep Farming | Part 2
Review of Katharo Plateau by
Graham B
Devizes, United Kingdom
Crete's highest plateau!
Despite having visited Crete more times than I can remember, I had never ventured up to the Katharo Plateau, so decided to give it a go after spending part of the day in Agios Nikolaos. You follow the road to the mountain village of Kritsa, after which the road starts to climb sharply, affording jaw-dropping views back towards Agios Nikolaos.
At 1150 meters above sea level, the Katharo is considerably higher than Lassithi but is way less developed or cultivated. It has no peripheral road as does Lassithi but a series of tracks, some pretty rough, that lead to the few small villages up here. Rusticity is the word here, little black clad old ladies, and the occasional farmer riding a ricketty three-wheeled tractor that in many places, would have been consigned to the scrap yard years ago.
We stopped at a taverna in entrance of Katharo plateau, and for once, were rather pleased to find that neither of the people in that taverna spoke any English, so we ordered our drinks as best we could and sat outside, in the shade from the heat, although it was considerably cooler here than down on the coast.
If you have a 4 x 4, it is possible to access the Lassithi plateau via the dirt road that runs north from Kopraki, to join the Neapoli - Lassithi road a kilometer or so east of Mesa Lassithi. Next time we will bring a 4 x 4 rather than a Peugeot 206 and make that ride. Wonderful.
Period of experience: September