Some places don’t change — you do. The transformative power of Crete

Travel isn’t just about seeing new horizons; it’s about becoming someone new. You leave as one person and return as another because some places have the power to transform you.

Maybe that moment happens deep in the Imbros Gorge, one of Crete’s most stunning canyons. Centuries ago, rising mountains and flowing rivers carved this wild, rugged landscape—one of over 400 gorges on the island, the most in all of Greece!

That morning, we stopped at Porofarago Tavern, savoring warm cheese pies drizzled with local honey before stepping into history. Once a vital path between Chania and Sfakia, Imbros witnessed fierce battles during the Turkish occupation.

At first, the canyon’s walls were low, but soon we were looking up — towering cliffs, cypress trees, ancient oaks. We passed “The Plane”, where a German aircraft crashed in WWII, and walked through Gournia, where rock basins fill with water in winter.

Then, we reached the most breathtaking point — Stenada, where the walls stand 300 meters high yet only 1.6 meters apart. Further ahead, we discovered a Venetian cistern and the striking red rock arch, Xepitira Arch.

Later, in Frangokastelo, the ruins of a 14th-century Venetian fortress stood against the deep blue of the Libyan Sea. Legend says that every May 17th at sunrise, ghostly knights appear in the mist—whispers of the past carried by the wind.

There are many powerful places.
But there is only one Crete.
And Crete has the power to change you.