Windmills of Lasithi
The Windmills of Lasithi in Crete, Greece are quite a site to see. We visited them in September, 2019, when we drove from Chania to Elounda after visiting Knossos Palace. Notably, there are a few different types of Windmills in this area. There are the more modern steel ones on the Lasithi Plateau, the white washed windmills at the Homo-Sapien Museum, and the old stone windmill ruins at Ambelos Pass. All of these are located within a short drive from each other.
Directions
From Heraklion we took E75 East then turned South on Pavlou Mela. We stopped in Krasi to eat at Taverna Stefanis and it was amazing! If you check out my Knossos Blog Post I have pictures of Taverna Stefanis. From Krasi, we continued up the mountain and followed the signs to Lasithi Plateau.
Whitewashed Windmills
The first windmills we saw on our way to Lasithi Plateau were the whitewashed windmills at the Homo-Sapien Museum. We took some pictures and enjoyed the beautiful Mountain View. We were short on time and unfortunately, did not visit the museum. As a result, I don’t have any other information on these windmills. Regardless, they were pretty cool to see.
Ambelos Windmills
You will find the Ambelos Windmills at the North entrance to the Lasithi Plateu. These windmills of stone set a dramatic scene above the mountains. The views are amazing. These windmills were moved here in the late 19th century from the village of Potami. There are 24 ruins left of the original 27.
These specific windmills grind cereals and are fixed, which means they only work with a specific direction of the wind. Windmills were used in the Lasithi Plateau area as early as the Byzantine Era and more so in the Venetian area. I was not able to find information as to exactly how old these windmills are so if anyone out there knows, please let me know!!
Steel Windmills
Continuing on towards the village of Tzermiado you will pass steel windmills with white sails on them. Lots of them. The steel windmills are actually wind pumps. They are being used for the purpose of pumping water to irrigate plants on the Lasithi Plateau. You will see them in use with crops around them. You may also notice water canals throug out this area. The canals were built in Venetian times in order to prevent flooding from water coming down through the mountains.
End of the Road
We continued to the village of Tzermiado and for us this was the end of the road. Our GPS was no help, unfortunately, it kept taking us around the same block. The only road our map showed, which we found, was a dirt road going up the mountain that was very narrow. We tried to find our way to the road we were looking for to continue on this way to Elounda, but unfortunately, we were going in circles and it was getting late. All things considered, we did not want to be on back roads we weren’t familiar with as it became dark. Consequently, we turned around and went back the way we came from and arrived in Elounda around sunset. The drive back was just a beautiful.
NOTE: In 2020 we came this way again and visited Zeus Cave. This time we found the right road to Agios Nikolas and then to Elounda with no problem! It was a beautiful drive. The hilly, curvy road took us through many small villages and the views were amazing.
Elounda Peninsula All Suites Hotel
Once at Elounda, we easily found our hotel, the Elounda Peninsula All Suites Hotel. We found this place to be beyond wonderful! The service was outstanding and the views from our room and deck were amazing. In fact, this place was simply outstanding. All in all, the hospitality of the staff is what truly makes Elounda Peninsula stand out. For more information or to book a room click here.
Diary of a Gen-X does not have any affiliate links for restaurants or hotels. We only recommend hotels and restaurants that we have been to and have felt are exceptional. Get-X is an affiliate of Amazon and I do get a small commission for Amazon products.
Planning
While planning our trip to Greece, I found the travel guide Top 10 Crete to be very useful. For one thing, itIt lists the top 10 places to go, restaurants, and sites. Additionally, it also lists the top 10 by region and area. Given these points, I felt it was a great planning tool, plus it came with a pocket size map which we did use.
I also bought a National Geographic Map of Crete and this was priceless as we lost our GPS several times. The map is pretty accurate and durable. It certainly did help us out!
True Trips, Greece. A big part of planning is done for us! Both times we traveled to Greece, we let True Greece plan much of our trip! They will plan as much or as little as you want, and they really listen to what you want to do. We had them plan our lodging and also our transfers to and from airports and ferry ports. They pick us up and take us to the lodging. You can have them plan your tours too. The tours we did last year were awesome! As a matter of fact, they are from Greece. They know the ins and outs that we would never know. This is invaluable, as it assures for a smooth trip. In other words, I 100% recommend True Greece, they are experts and they work hard to plan with you!
Check them out on this link for more info https://www.truegreece.com
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You can find my other Greek Adventures by following these links:
Elounda Peninsula All Suite Hotel, 2019, 2021
Spinalonga Island, Crete, Sept 2019
Windmills of Lasithi Crete, Sept 2019
Knossos Palace, Crete Sept 2019
Seitan Limania Beach, Sept 2019
Katholiko Monastery, Sept 2019
Sunrise over Athens, Sept 2019
3 Days in Milos Greece, Oct 2018
5 Best Beaches in Milos, Greece, Oct 2018
Acropolis and Parthenon Oct 2018
First Time Guide-3 Days in Santorini Oct 2018
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So interesting! The sails? looks fabric ?
Not sure!! I assume like a boat sail but no idea!!
Those do seem to be sewn like boat sails, Lori. Wow!
They were pretty amazing
Amazing the styles and types of windmills ya’ll saw! Obviously a proven useful tool for the area, and beautiful too! 😊
We were impressed!!! Fun locating them as well!!
I can imagine! I think the way some of those stuck out of the stone wall houses or huts was like it was an earthen airplane sculpture left by a previous culture! But that’s just my imagination running off, lol! I imagine the winds along the shore there are super powerful! If you do a return trip, would love to hear about any history or “tales” you picked up on (sincerely) 😊
We are returning next September and I am hoping to learn more about them!
That’ll be very neat! 😊
never realized there were different styles of windmills, and for different purposes. thanks for the informative and entertaining post!
I didn’t know either!!!! Thanks for commenting!!
Had no idea that windmills were such a big thing in Crete, they look so good though. Especially against the bright blue sky. The hotel looks incredible too.
I thought they were a lot of fun to see. Something different. The hotel was incredible. Blew me away!
As someone who is Dutch, I can appreciate a good windmill. Didn’t realize they were so many in Crete.
I would love to see the sDitch windmills some
Day!!
Nice post, very beautiful.
Thank you!!
I was fascinated by windmills as a child! Last year when I was in Utah that fascination came back. We were driving through the mountains and they were everywhere. Thank you so much for sharing. They’re just so neat looking ❤
Windmills are pretty fascinating! I love how they differ in looks depending on the region. We have many here in Iowa over the last 10-15 years that have been built to produce electricity. Of course we still see some on farms that pump water, although those are disappearing as some are over 100 years old. Thanks for your comment! Have a great day! Lori
This reminded me of my trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Kinderdijk in the Netherlands, dedicated wholly to windmills.
It’s quite surprising to see so many different varieties of windmills over there in Greece. I am assuming that they were used for grinding grains. Is that correct?
The windmills are so beautiful.. Thank you once again Madam for sharing.. 😊
Some of the windmills were designed for grinding grain, others for pumping water.
Noted. Thank you Madam for explaining.. 🙂