BALOS BEACH, CRETE ISLAND – The blue lagoon of Crete
Balos Beach is located in the northwestern part of Crete. It is a lagoon with fine white sand and very shallow turquoise blue sea water. The place is uniquely beautiful and for this reason it is always full of tourists from all over the world.
To get to the lagoon you have two ways: by sea or by road. The first requires you to catch a cruise ship from a nearby coastal resort, such as the city of Chania, Heraklion or Kissamos. All these cruise ships dock at Balos and have a few hours stay during which you can enjoy the amazing natural resources gathered in this place. Those who choose to travel by road should head to the highway to Kissamos. Then they continue on a narrow road for about 7 km through small villages and olive groves located along the Gramvousa Peninsula. At one point the asphalt ends and continues on a “dirt road”, with rocky ridges rising on one side and the endless blue of the sea on the other. Along the way you can meet wild mountain goats. The road ends at a small parking lot, where you have to leave your car and continue on foot, along a path leading down to the beach. The trail is reddish-orange and offers breathtaking views of the Lagoon on the Tigani Peninsula (“tigаni” mеаns “frying pаn” in Grееκ). The distance is about 1 km and after only 10-20 minutes you go down to the beach on stone steps. Once you get there, the whole beach is revealed in a pale pink hue, coming from the sand – obtained from the broken millions of mussel shells. The sea is shallow, crystal blue and ideal for small children. The Tigani Peninsula has a flat top (hence its name) and can be easily reached by walking in the shallow water.
Opposite the beach there is a small rocky island, also known as Gramvousa Island. It was there that a castle was built to protect the island of Crete during the Turkish occupation. The remains of this Venetian fortress are still at the top and the cruise ships coming from Balos include climbing and visiting it. Gramvousa is also famous as a pirate island, because in a certain period of its history about 3000 Cretan rebels were exiled without food and were forced to become pirates. Since 1968, the shipwrecked ship in the shallow rocky shores has become an integral part of the island’s landscape.
If you choose to visit Balos beach with your own transport, it is good to go early in the morning – before 12 o’clock or after 3 p.m., when the last ship sailed for Gramvousa. Otherwise you will come across hundreds of tourists pouring from cruise ships. During the summer season there is a small canteen that sells fresh drinks, and umbrellas are rented, but due to the large influx of people it is good to bring your own.
The beaches of Balos and Elafonisi are considered to be some of the most beautiful and photographed places, not only in Greece but also in the whole Mediterranean.
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