islets

Beneath the church of Saint Nicholas in Koufonisi islet and a little east of the well of the island, we meet the steep cliff of Pilavas that blocks our access to the east beachfront of the area. Right next to the cliff the small beach Perasma is formed, with sandy and fairly rocky bottom.

Approximately 500m west of the main harbor Chrissi island, approximately in the middle of the southern side of the island, a dirt road leads us to the beautiful Vlychadia beach. The beach has black and red chalk that comes from red lava, while the bottom is mainly rocky.

An important settlement of the Minoan and Roman period has been found in the island Chrysea of ancient Greeks, the present island of Chrissi or Gaidouronisi. Buildings and at least three carved tombs have been identified near the church of Agios Nikolaos and the lighthouse on the island. The settlement was probably used for the production of Tyrian purple from the shells of Murex brandaris, exactly like the neighboring isle of Koufonissi.

At the westernmost point of Koufonissi islet, north of the cliffs of Hiliaderfia and south of Asprougas, is formed a wonderful secluded beach. Due to its location at the western end of the island, it is called Plevro (which means side in Greek).

At the eastern end of the island of Chrissi lies the beautiful beach of Kataprosopo (=face to face), which faces the island of Mikronissi. Mikronissi is a great refuge for marine avifauna. In fact, the beach is divided into two by a thin strip of rocky land, while the vegetation in juniper is clearly more limited than the other beaches of the eastern part of the island. The waters are shallow and do not exceed 5m to Micronissi, making it ideal for snorkelling.

At the western end of the long beach of Chatzivolakas on the island of Chrissi, we find the beach Avlaki. Avlaki has rocky seabed, like almost the whole island. At the end of the beach there is the second harbour of the island at position Spilios and the only house in Chrissi built in the middle of the 20th century. The name Spilios (cave) is taken after an old house built in the rock.

The position on the southern side of the island of Chryssi where the the boats carrying visitors from Ierapetra stop is called Vougiou Mati. To the west of the quay a small rocky bay is formed with small caves. On the east side of the quay, a long rocky beach is formed, which visitors prefer when the most popular beach of the island, Belegrina or Golden Beach in the north, is wavy.

At the eastern part of the island of Chryssi and on the south side of the island the large beach of Vages is formed. Vages generally has a rocky bottom, except for the eastern edge where there is sand.