This is a complete remote gem in lovely Crete. 

Kato Zakros is absolutely way off the beaten track, but well worth the journey that takes you through the beautiful and changing landscape of East Crete.

Kato Zakros, simply awesome, small and personal, quiet and well - it is somewhere you feel a sense of ownership about the moment you arrive. At the end of a dazzling, exciting with stunning views road, descending from the plain around Zakros itself.

At this archaeological site, you’ll get a better understanding of the scope of Minoan influence as you explore a small but intricate palace/town complex (ca. 1900-1450 BC) and pick up on key trans-Cretan characteristics that connect this settlement with the Minoans’ larger socioeconomic network. The site’s own treasures include its architecture and rich artworks – among the latter are a bull’s head with golden horns; a gold-covered libation vessel (rhyton) depicting a mountaintop sanctuary; and luxurious vases of rock crystal and colorful veined marble, some with bold, upward-sweeping handles, all now in the Irakleio Archaeological Museum.

The harbor and the presence of imported artifacts indicate that Zakros was a gateway to the eastern Mediterranean.