This is just one of many exquisitely elevated tavernas, this one is owned by Dimitri and Evgenia who, as well as creating delicious food and ambience, have created one of the most welcoming places to hear traditional Cretan and Greek music in the region. Catch Dimitri at the right time, and there is never really a wrong time for him and his musician friends to bring out an accordion or a lyra, and he will beguile you with Cretan sounds that echo across the valleys and vertiginous gorges stretching out for miles in every direction. Even the birds of prey gliding through the thermals up above look as if they are dancing along.
It is not just Dimitri’s music that will move you up in Vamos, however, but the fact that he and so many other mountain taverna owners here capture the very essence of Cretan mountain life. Because to Cretans, the mountains are much more important than the sea. They are the heart, lungs and indeed soul of Crete really and, with five mountain ranges on this one island, they certainly have the most exquisite breathing spaces here.
The mountain ranges from west to east are the White Mountains, the Idi Range, Mount Kedros, the Dikti Range and Mount Thripti. For hiking and tourism infrastructure, it is the White Mountains that are best known, although the island’s highest peak, Mount Ida (also known as Psiloritis) is the crowning glory of its eponymous range at a height of 2,456m. Just short of that is Pachnes at 2,453m, the highest peak of the White Mountains where there are, in fact, 30 peaks topping 2,000m.
But you really don’t need to take on a summit to savour the White wonders, with villages and small locally owned guesthouses dotting the foothills and flower filled fields, all boasting unique Cretan views of peaks and plateaus, coast and fertile plains. And although they are perfect bases to explore the mountain paths, they also invite good old fashioned stillness in the reassuring presence of the peaks. Hiking all day may suit some people, but for others, simply recharging, relaxing and respiring is what spending time in these mountains is all about.
.jpg){kind=link}
