Zargianakis Raki Distillery, Museum of Gortyn & Zaros Lake Tour

Zargianakis Raki distillery (1 1/2 hours)

When you visit Zargianakis raki distillery you will have the chance to experience the traditional cretan culture which remains true to date, to learn the best way of raki distillation and buy homemade traditional cretan products made by Zargianaki family.

In Crete raki or tsikoudia, the transparent full of aromas drink of cretan land, is the tool of cretan communication. Production of raki is happening every autumn after the crop of grapes. The custom of raki distillers legislated by Eleutherios Venizelos at 1920. In raki distiller the raw material used is the tsikouda, the remains of the grape pressing to eject the must. When the pot begins to boil then begins to flow in the first body of the distillate, the protorako its name, that it is very strong as an alcohol. While distilling raki continues to get the right proportions and degrees.

Archaeological collection of Gortyn (1 1/2 hours)

The ruins of the ancient city of Gortys with its acropolis and necropolis extend in an area of about 1.000 acres, from the hills Ai-Giannis, Volakas and Prophitis Ilias in the north to the villages Agioi Deka and Metropolis in the south.

This is a small museum located at the archaeological site of Gortyn, which was the most important city of the Roman years in Crete.

The museum hosts finds from the archaeological site that are considered of a rather secondary importance, since the majority of the finds, including the most significant among them, are kept in the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion. However, it is well worth visiting, along with the archaeological site of Gortyn. These two combined, give one the impression of a visit to a large open-air museum.

Zaros Lake (1 hour)

The artificial lake of Zaros or Votomos located on the southern slopes of Psiloritis, just 1km north of Zaros and 45km southwest of Iraklion. The area was a small wetland before 1987, which was shaped in the crater of Votomos spring. It took its current form in 1987, when the Forest Service created an artificial lake where the spring water is stored.

The water comes from the 3 springs of “Mati”, some of the many springs of the region. “Zaros” in Greek means a place with a lot of water.

Around the lake there are several restaurants and cafes, where visitors can relax and taste trout and salmon, which are bred in tanks near the lake. The lake is also surrounded by a playground, several benches and tables, where you can picnic. A stroll around the lake is very short.

Finally, the lake is the starting point of the path that leads, through the gorge of St. Nicholas, to the majestic holly-tree forest of Rouvas, 5km northern.