Nature

The Skinakas Observatory is a research facility operated jointly by the Foundation of Research and Technology - Hellas (F.O.R.T.H.), the University of Crete and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics of Germany.

The beach can be mainly accessed by boat, as it is hard to find the beach in the complicated dirt road network of the area. The beach is surrounded by low vegetation.

Mougri cave is located in the middle of Kouloukonas mountains, just northwest of Vossakos monastery. It was formed within the “Plattenkalk” rocks, probably along one of the big faults in the area.

Between Platani and the airport of Sitia there are huge uninhabited lands with low vegetation and wild sharp rocks, where even no roads exist. This area, called Melissokipi (aka Bee gardens), is crossed by several deep streams flowing into the sea (in winter). One of them, Vathys Potamos (i.e. Deep River) a small sandy beach is formed which unfortunately is strongly affected by the frequent winds.

The Cave Fovolies is located north of Atherinolakos at position Fovolies. It is located next a a Minoan settlement. It is a small cave and easily accessible.

Prina Village is located 24 km SE of Agios Nikolaos and 14 km N of Ierapetra. The hills of Prina are covered by a very important pine forest, which sadly has been burnt several times recently.

West of Mochlos and east of Malavra springs, you’ll see the plaster mines of the area. The site is called Altsi from the Turkish word alçı, which means gypsum, plaster. This region hosts two small beaches, totally unknown to everybody, as it is not accessed due to the mines. Access to the beaches of Altsi is possible via the road leading to the mills that grind the stones (the paved road signed as a dead end before Mochlos).

The European Green Toad (scient. Pseudepidalea viridis or Bufo shaartusiensis or Bufo sitibundus or Bufo viridis or Rana picta) is a widespread species of European toad, which is also found in Crete. The difference between toads and frogs is that toads have dry, warty skin, while frogs have smooth, wet skin.