Gouvernetou

Gouvernetou Review

The 16th-century, Venetian-era monastery at Gouvernetou, on the north end of the Akrotiri peninsula, is said to be one of the oldest and largest remaining religious communities on Crete. Delightful frescoes cover the wall of the courtyard chapel. A path leads down the flanks of a seaside ravine past several caves used as hermitages and churches to the remote, 11th-century Katholiko, the monastery of St. John the Hermit, who persued his solitary life in a nearby cave. Follow the path along a riverbank for another mile or so to a secluded cove that is the perfect place for a refreshing dip. The return walk requires a steep uphill climb.