Gra Ligia beach
Gra Ligia is a seaside village located just 5km west of Ierapetra and 39km south of Agios Nikolaos. It is situated at the exit of a fertile valley, which is full with greenhouses with early vegetables. Locals were the first to grow vegetables in greenhouses and this was later extended throughout the area of Ierapetra. There are so many greenhouses, that locals call Gra Ligia the “Silicon Valley of Greece”. 2km north of the village is the dam of Bramiana, which supplies water to all crops of Ierapetra and has turned to one of the most important wetlands in Crete.
Besides agriculture, people get involved with tourism as well. Gra Ligia has faced a mild development and is one of the newest resorts in Crete. This development has been favored by the beautiful long beach with coarse sand that stretches in front of the village, stretching from Ierapetra to the area of Stomio. The beach has calm water. It is also well organized, since there are umbrellas and showers, but not on a massive scale. There are also many tamarisk trees around. You'll see mostly locals swimming and fishing with their boats, which are placed in the local harbor.
At times, tournaments are organized on the beach like beach soccer. If you're lucky, you might participate in the revived custom of "xentomatiasmata”, i.e. tomatowar, which is organized in early summer. Gra Ligia is really a perfect choice for leisure and relaxing holidays. In the evening you can enjoy your drink in the local bars or just visit Ierapetra. To get in Gra Ligia from Ierapetra, just drive in the road that heads west of the city. Moreover, you can get the bus passing from the village.
