Crete is not an island, it is a world. Cradle of the first civilisation in Europe, land of vertiginous gorges and thousand-year-old olive groves, home of raki and of hospitality without limit… you could walk there a lifetime without going all the way round.
From Knossos to the Samaria gorge, from Mount Ida to dakos, twelve questions to measure what you know of the largest of the Greek islands. Every answer slips in a story, a flavour, a path.
Fancy testing everything? Head for the great Greece quiz.
Which Cretan palace, near Heraklion, housed the Minotaur's labyrinth according to legend?
Explanation Knossos, heart of the Minoan civilisation, is the largest palace on the island.
The Minoan civilisation, born in Crete, is considered…
Explanation The Minoans, from the 3rd millennium BC, formed the first great civilisation on the European continent.
Some 16 km long, which Cretan gorge is among the most famous in Europe?
Explanation The descent of the Samaria gorge, in the White Mountains, is the great walk of Crete.
Which emblematic animal, a wild goat with long horns, lives in the Cretan mountains?
Explanation The kri-kri (or agrimi), the wild goat of Crete, is met above all in the White Mountains.
What is the highest summit in Crete, also called Mount Ida?
Explanation Psiloritis (2,456 m) is said to shelter the Idaean cave where Zeus was raised.
Which Cretan spirit, distilled from grape marc, is shared as a sign of hospitality?
Explanation Raki, or tsikoudia, punctuates the end of every meal in Crete: impossible to refuse!
This barley rusk topped with tomato and fresh cheese, a Cretan speciality, is called…
Explanation Dakos, drizzled with olive oil, sums up the luminous simplicity of Cretan cooking.
Which town in western Crete is famous for its old Venetian harbour?
Explanation Chania lines up Venetian houses and an emblematic lighthouse around its harbour.
Off Agios Nikolaos, which small island was for a long time a leper colony?
Explanation Spinalonga, a former Venetian fortress, housed a leper colony until the middle of the 20th century.
Crete is the … of the Greek islands.
Explanation Crete is by far the largest island in Greece, almost a continent in itself.
According to a famous myth, which god, in the form of a bull, carried Europa off to Crete?
Explanation Zeus, transformed into a white bull, seduced Europa and carried her off to Crete: from their union Minos was born.
Which waterfall in north-eastern Crete drops into a pool of clear water at the bottom of a small valley?
Explanation The Richtis waterfall, at the end of a shaded path, offers a refreshing swim in the middle of nature.
Would you like our next quizzes and our travel ideas for Greece?
Walking Crete, from the coast to the mountains
Nothing replaces setting foot there: descending the Samaria or Imbros gorges, following a deserted beach in the south, climbing to a mountain village where raki is still distilled. Crete is walked in spring and autumn, when the heat falls away and the paths come into flower.
At Kelifos, specialists in walking holidays in Greece for more than forty years, we compose these itineraries in the register of the sweetness of life: charming addresses, village tavernas and luggage transferred from stage to stage.
Continue reading
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Article written by
Maria Papadopoulou (Μαρία Παπαδοπούλου)
Editorial lead
I hike, and Greece is the place I keep coming back to. My initial studies (a Master’s in Marketing and a degree in Applied Foreign Languages) taught me how to build an editorial project, and the trails taught me the… Read more
