South Crete, Krete, Creta, Ierapetra, Libyan sea, Chrisi, Greece, Island, Vacation, holidays
Chrisi is a destination offered by many tourist guides, and with every right. Every day a boat departing from Ierapetra will take you seven miles to the south, to a small island covered with cedar forest and full of beaches laid with crushed pink sea-shells.
It is one of 81 desert island near Crete, more widely known by the name Gaidouronisi (Donkey Island). The residents of Ierapetra call it simply “Nisi” (The Island) because of their special attitude to it. It’s situated 8 nautical miles to the south of Ierapetra, in the Libyan Sea.
Chrisi is a destination offered by many tourist guides, and with every right. Every day a boat departing from Ierapetra will take you seven miles to the south, to a small island covered with cedar forest and full of beaches laid with crushed pink sea-shells.
It is one of 81 desert island near Crete, more widely known by the name Gaidouronisi (Donkey Island). The residents of Ierapetra call it simply “Nisi” (The Island) because of their special attitude to it. It’s situated 8 nautical miles to the south of Ierapetra, in the Libyan Sea.
It’s almost flat and characterized by the huge amounts of sea-shells on its northern coast (Belegrina), beaches with white sand, green-blue waters and the cedar forest.
It’s 5 km long and 1 km wide on average. The highest point is Kefala height (31 meters).
It’s 5 km long and 1 km wide on average. The highest point is Kefala height (31 meters).
The cedar forest which exists on the island covers the area of 350 000 square meters, 14 trees per 1 000 square meters on average, 200 years old. About 70% of the island territory is covered by bushes and trees. Number of plants which exist on Chrisi is 1/20 of all the Cretan flora! Up to this moment around 100 species of plants have been counted, from which 13 are endemic of Greece. From those 5 are endemic of Crete and 1 (Colchicum costurieri) grows only on this small island, nowhere else in the world! Many of the other species are rare and endangered, therefore they’re protected by international agreements and laws.
In the western part of the island guests may visit the church of Agios Nikolaos (St.Nicholas) (it was most probably built in the 13th century), the old salt lake which still gathers salt, the tombs of Roman period hollowed out in the rocks, the ancient mole and the lighthouse.
In the western part of the island guests may visit the church of Agios Nikolaos (St.Nicholas) (it was most probably built in the 13th century), the old salt lake which still gathers salt, the tombs of Roman period hollowed out in the rocks, the ancient mole and the lighthouse.
From the sources it seems that Gaidouronisi has been inhabited during the Minoan period, but it didn’t influence the island.
Stasiasmus mentions that close to Ierapetra there’s an island named Chrisi, which has water and a harbour. Buondelmonti (in 1945) talks of Chrisi as of mostly uncultivated island with bushes and cedars.
The sea wealth of Chrisi is really abundant. The fossils found on volcano rocks are dated from 350 000 to 70 000 years of age, when the island was still sub-water. In general 49 kinds of fossils were found. Many of those still exist inside the sea water around Chrisi, as a result the northern coasts (Belegrina, Chatzivolaka, Kataprosopo) are full of sea-shells, which is something special about this island.
700 meters to the east of Chrisi there is Mikronisi, a small rocky island with total area 117 000 square meters. Hundreds of thousands couples of sea gulls nestle on Mikronisi.
700 meters to the east of Chrisi there is Mikronisi, a small rocky island with total area 117 000 square meters. Hundreds of thousands couples of sea gulls nestle on Mikronisi.
There are everyday routes of boats from Ierapetra port from the middle of May till the end of October. The journey starts at 10:30 and lasts for about an hour. The passengers disembark in the southern part of the island on the site called Vougiou Mati, next to the Municipal Tavern. There is a path from there to the northern part of the island, taking you to the bay of Belegrina.
The guest has about 6 hours to walk on the endless beaches, to enjoy the green-blue waters, to visit the church of St.Nicholas and to let the unique ecosystem steal their heart and fill it with dreams.
Thanks to its beauty and its ecosystem Chrisi was enlisted in the European NATURA 2000 program of nature protection. The guests are asked not to violate this tender balance and to respect the environment. Any pollution is prohibited, as well as collection of sea-shells and stones, walking off the set paths and camping.
Thanks to its beauty and its ecosystem Chrisi was enlisted in the European NATURA 2000 program of nature protection. The guests are asked not to violate this tender balance and to respect the environment. Any pollution is prohibited, as well as collection of sea-shells and stones, walking off the set paths and camping.
