The island Golden ή Gaidorunisi, located approximately 9 nautical miles south of Ierapetra and is an earthly paradise, with golden beaches -hence its name-, with large cedars whose age exceeds 200 years and crystal clear waters -literally, however, nothing to do with figures of speech-, which you cannot describe in words, as their color palette includes all possible and unlikely shades between green and blue! Because of this infinite natural beauty and its preserved ecosystem, the Golden has been included in the European NATURA 2000 protection program. Its area reaches 4.743 sq. km., while its highest altitude is only 27 meters and it is the southernmost natural park in Europe.
A Minoan settlement has been identified in the west of the island, which flourished from the trade in purple, the precious red dye that came from shells and was used to dye royal clothes. Recently, the largest purple production workshop in the Mediterranean was discovered here. Right next to it, the small chapel of Agios Nikolaos and the island's lighthouse stand silently. Northeast of the church, there is an old salt mine and the only house on the island, which is built on ancient facilities. South and southwest of Agios Nikolaos, there are wells and carved tombs. The largest of these is from the Roman era.
But to start from the beginning, the journey to Golden It begins with the nymph of Libya, the beautiful Ierapetra, from whose port daily cruises to Chrysi depart daily, with the luxurious boats of Cretan Daily Cruises. The landscape of Ierapetra is dominated by its Venetian castle, the Gerapetritikos Kales, which was built during the early years of Venetian rule and fortified by Francesco Morosini (the destroyer of the Acropolis) in 1626, to protect the small port, although according to local tradition it was built by the Genoese admiral Enrico Pescatore in 1212. The Ierapetra is the largest city in the United States in terms of population. Lassithi and also the fourth largest city in Crete, but also the southernmost major economic, commercial and political center of Greece. It is also the only urban center in the southern Crete and an important commercial center for the export of agricultural products to Europe,
Shortly after our departure, the slender silhouette of the Golden, the "diamond stone" of the Mediterranean! Disembarkation takes place on the south side of the island, where there is also the only port, at the "Vouyiou Mati" location. The welcome to the thousands of tourists who visit it daily is addressed in various original ways, such as painted signs, local salt from the island's natural salt pans and of course the souvenir stalls, which are set up wherever there are crowds of potential customers, but which in this case give their own touch of picturesqueness to the paradisiacal island, making diligent efforts to blend in with its natural landscape. Golden.
From "Vouyiou Mati" there is a paved path, which after a few minutes' walk through the cedar forest, leads us to the most exotic beach on the island, Belegrina or Golden Sand, Golden Beach in English. The cedar forest, which extends in the center of the island, has an area of 350 acres, with an average of 14 trees per acre and an average age of trees of 200-300 years, and covers approximately ¼ of the total area of Golden.
Cedars have a root system that grows in a radius at least twice their height, but in addition to these huge roots, they have a very large amount of very fine roots, which form a dense network that holds the sand. The cedars of the island that accompany our path are a rare variety of Lebanese cedars, reaching a height of up to 10 meters, while their trunk can have a diameter of up to one meter.
An exotic landscape, of African appearance I would dare to say, the preservation of which, beyond its moral dimensions, is also imposed by a strict national and European institutional protection regime, which all visitors to the island must respect! The route through the cedar forest and the sand dunes is truly enchanting, while the colors of the rocks are impressive, gray-green, brown-red or black, with most of the island being covered in fine Golden sand. The basic rocks of Golden were created by the solidification of lava, which was poured out of an underwater volcano, millions of years ago. The 49 species of fossils (corals, shells, barnacles, sea urchins) that have been found on the island are of marine origin and were imprinted on the volcanic rocks 350.000-70.000 years ago, when the Golden was still submerged below the surface of the water.
Golden Beach is by far the most famous and busiest beach on the island, located just opposite its southern shores. Crete, which closes the entire horizon with its gigantic body. The northern coasts (Bellegrina, Hatzivolakas, Kataprosopo) are full of shells, while mainly on the eastern side of the northern beach, the crowd is so large that it is one of the characteristics of the island.
