From Viannos, Olive Oil

The route covers 73 kilometers, lasts about 2 hours by car or motorcycle without stops, and does not require a guide. It is recommended year-round for visitors interested in nature, culture, the sea, gastronomy, and all kinds of outdoor activities.

In about 2 hours of travel, Viannos reveals its own world—where the mountains truly meet the sea. From Emparos and Viannos, the road leads to Pefkos and Symi with its pine forest, passes through Sykologos and Sidonia, descends to Arvi and Keratokampos with their rare beaches, then returns again to the mountains and picturesque villages. A stop of memory, reverence, and duty awaits at the Holocaust Memorial in Amiras, followed by the ancient sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite in Symi, before the ascent to the Omalos Plateau, where beauty enchants, with the chapel of the Holy Spirit, the pines, and the Dikti mountain range. The return offers breathtaking views of the Libyan Sea. If you choose to stay in the area, you will find many seaside rooms to rent along the coast and beautiful guesthouses in the mountains.

The route offers not only beauty but also exceptional flavors. First and foremost, the well-known Symi beans, which take on a unique flavor beneath the village’s plane trees. Meats and cheeses from the surrounding mountains, staka (thickened butter cream), snails, myzithropites (cheese pies), stuffed vine leaves, and all kinds of garden vegetables, accompanied by barley rusks, fresh myzithra cheese, and salads with local olive oil, are unforgettable tastes. The true jewel of Viannos is its olive oil—one of the finest in the Mediterranean—together with the wines and herbs of Emparos. The rich gastronomic basket is completed by the small, intensely aromatic Arvi bananas, honey, wild greens, and the region’s early garden produce. Seek out these local products before leaving—you will easily find them everywhere.

This route is a rare journey that takes you from the Omalos Plateau to the sea’s edge, offering a dreamlike experience of taste and discovery.

Route Products

PDO products: Graviera of Crete, Xinomizithra of Crete, Pine-thyme honey of Crete, Viannos Olive Oil.

PGI products: Cretan rusk, Heraklion wine.

Special products: Olive oil, garden vegetables, Arvi bananas, Symi beans, Emparos wine, aromatic herbs, fish from the Libyan Sea.

Route Delicacies

Symi beans with kid goat: A uniquely flavorful, simple, and pure dish that highlights the distinctive taste and tenderness of Symi beans. It is prepared using only fresh Symi beans, kid goat from the Dikti mountains, fresh tomato, onion, olive oil, salt, and a little wine. It is slow-cooked without water, allowing the ingredients to blend in their own juices.
Snails with broad beans and wild greens (pikrastacha): A spring dish often combined with artichokes. It is slow-cooked in olive oil, with wild bitter greens added at the end after being lightly boiled in salted water. The greens impart a distinctive bitterness and unique flavor to this local yet classic Cretan dish.