FIND A VILLA | Villa Giorgos | Gavalochori | Almyrida | The Surroundings | Excursions |
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THE VILLAGE OF GAVALOCHORI IN THE APOKORONAS ON THE ISLAND OF CRETE |
Gavalochori is a village situated in the Apokoronas area and not far from the sea side resort of Almirida. It can be reached on the Almirida - Gavalochori - Vamos route. The village is of historical importance. It is named after the Byzantine family of Gavalodon. In the village there are remains from the Byzantine, Venetian and Turkish periods, and artefacts found in Gavalochori proof that the village was inhabited in earlier times (Minoan, Neolithic and Roman times). On the village square of Gavalochori there is a World war II memorial. In Gavolochori you can visit the Historical and Folklore museum, which is housed in a building from Venetian and Turkish origin and has original stone arches. Here you can learn a bit about the history and the culture of the village. There are items of pottery, coins, costumes and weapons on display. Opening times are Mon - Sat 09.00 - 13.30 and 17.00 - 19.00, and Sunday 10.00 - 13.0 and 17.00 - 19.00. If you want you can also make a stop in Gavalochori for lunch or diner, because there are a couple of tavernas here. |
The Venetian wells of Gavalochori can be reached about a 1 kilometer walk from the sign in the village that is pointing to all the sights. The narrow road leads uphill untill you reach a T-junction. Here you turn left. On the left side (yellow arrow) there is some round structure (unknown but could be Venetian or older) and as you walk on you will see the Venetian wells on your right hand side. Walk even further any below you can see what looks to be a Venetian (or maybe even Roman?) bridge. We also tried to find the Roman tombs, but without any success. I was told they were build upon and hard to find. We could see some sort of caves (just a couple) in the gardens of two houses which looked like Roman tombs (compared them to the ones we had seen in Argiroupolis) but one of them was used to house chickens, while another had a collection of rubbish in it. |
Gavalochori is a nice place for a short stop and a walk around. You can take a look at the churches in the village or have an excellent lunch or dinner at Gavelianos Kafenion, where you can sit in the shade of large trees and see the village life passing by. |