Excursion to Exotic Elafonisi beach, village Elos, Cave of Agia Sofia & Cretan Brewery “Charma”

Caribbean majestic colors! Crystal clear turquoise shallow waters! Thin, white and coral-red sand! This is the beautiful Elafonisi!
Taste Cretan dishes at the traditional village of Elos in a chestnut forest and admire the Byzantine church covered with arches.
Bow to the grandeur of nature by the spectrum of colors and all those odd and interesting stalactites and stalagmites found in the Cave of Agia Sofia and by the wild landscape of Topolia Gorge.
Cheers Crete by tasting refreshing Charma beers!

The Program

A full-day excursion will take place on Saturday, June 8th, approx. 08:30 – 20:00. Buses will depart from the entrance of Minoa Palace Resort & Spa. Please remember to bring the ticket for the excursion. A bottle of water will be provided.

Elafonisi area

To reach Elafonisi area will pass through village Platanos, where throughout most of this route, you will be able to view the sea area west of Crete. Reaching Elafonisi you are free to stay on the beach for three hours.

The Elafonisi area includes the beach, the islet 200 meters offshore and the shallow lagoon between the two. The crystal clear turquoise shallow waters in combination with the thin white and coral-red sand (pinkish at several spots because of the crushed shell powder) create a landscape of unparalleled beauty!
There are sunbeds and beach umbrellas, lifeguards, two small beach bars, showers, changing cabinets, W.C.. At the peak of the tourist season the place is crowded, so it is recommended to have with you hats, water, beach towels and plenty of sunscreen cream.

The island is less than 200 meters from the beach and you can easily walk there through the warm, shallow water of the lagoon. On reaching the island you will discover lots of tiny beaches on its south coast. The only difference is that at this point there are no sun beds and umbrellas.
On the rocky elevated western part of the island a lighthouse can be seen with a small chapel dedicated to Agios Nikolaos, as well as the communal burial site of the victims of the Austrian ship “Imperatrice” which sank here in 1907.

It is also believed that a sanctuary of the god Apollo used to be here. Also, a massive massacre of revolutionaries, including a large number of women and children, who had taken refuge in Elafonisi, took place here by the Turks, in 1824.
Elafonisi today, together with the opposite shore, is a Natura 2000 protected area.

Walking on the beach of Elafonisi the visitor can see various plants and bushes (Atriplex halmus, crithmum, maritimum, rura clepensis, ballota pseudodictamum etc.). There is also a small frog (bufo viridis viridis) endemic to the island and various lizards (podarcis erherdil elafonisi) considered a protected species. There are also reported instances of a snake (coluber gemonensis gemorensis). According to studies conducted by the Greek Ministry of the Environment the island serves as a breeding spot for the caretta-caretta sea turtle.
There are very few indigenous species of birds on the area, but the area is very important to ornithologists since it is the last stop from Europe to Africa for migrating birds. It is strictly forbidden to remove any plants, animals and sand (due to its rare consistency of seashells) from the area.

Departure from Elafonisi around 13:30.

Village Elos

On our way back we make an hour and a half stop at the village Elos, which is built in a verdant landscape with chestnut forest, plane trees and many fruit orchards.

Get the chance to dine in traditional taverns and try Cretan dishes or drink a coffee in one of the kafenions (traditional cafe) below the plane trees. Recommended restaurants are Kamares cafe restaurant, Filoxenia restaurant and Paradosiako tavern.

In the village of Elos you can also find an old Turkish aqueduct, the remains of a large old mill and the one-hall Byzantine church covered with arches, dedicated to St. John the Divine (Theologos), with important mural decoration.

Cave of Agia Sofia

Leaving Elos behind and driving through small traditional villages, it is worth visiting the Cave of Agia Sofia for 20 minutes. A cave with stalactites, stalagmites and a small church at its entrance.

The cave of Agia Sofia is at an elevation of 285 meters, and includes a cupola 20 meters high and 70 meters in diameter. The stalagmites offer a never-ending variety of shapes, ranging from extremely tall conical formations to very short forms which somewhat resemble to top of a bald head.
Also, many ancient objects were discovered at this location, including shells from the Neolithic period.
The small church of Agia Sofia is in the front on the left side of the cave and the cave actually forms one of the church’s walls.

Topolia Gorge

The cave of Ag. Sofia is part of numerous shallow caves and hollows of Topolia Gorge.

The gorge is crossed by the River Tyflos, the vertical walls reach the height of 300 meters and the width of the stream bed varies between 5 and 50 meters.
However, short in length, the gorge is imposing, its landscape is wild and the wider area hosts rare and endemic plants of Crete. The watercourse is thick with plane trees, oleanders and other plants typical of the Cretan countryside. A large number of birds find shelter in the crannies, cracks and caves.
According to mythology, Topolia Gorge hosted water nymphs and the Minoan goddess Vritomartis. Here, the legendary Talos, used to stop to drink water from the river and enjoy nymphs’ divine music and dance.

Cretan Brewery “Charma”

Our final stop will be at the Cretan Brewery “Charma”, where the creation of full-flavored, pure beers without preservatives or additives are made.

Learn every stage of the brewing process and experience the rich aromas and different malts. Sit back and taste three of their delicious and refreshing handcrafted beers on their spacious balcony surrounded by olive groves and orange threes, accompanied with Cretan bread sticks.

The cost of participation is 30 euros per person and includes transportation by bus and the beer tasting.

If you would like to reserve a place, please complete the form (.doc , .pdf) by April 5th. By signing this form you commit to paying in cash upon registration at the meeting. Accompanying persons wishing to join the conference dinner are kindly asked to follow the same instructions.