Crete 2024, Greece

When we went on a mountain tour through the north east we drove through the Lasithi Plateau.

The Lasithi Plateau is a karst plain at an average altitude of 830 metres. To drive there we went over a height of 1250m.

The picturesque plateau, surrounded by mountain ranges, is a popular tourist destination in the summer months, but now in autumn and winter there are no tourists to be seen anywhere.

The fertile farmland of the plateau is flooded in spring when snow melts from the surrounding mountain peaks. The water collects in limestone caverns. The only outflow is the Chonos cavern in the west of the plain. If this was blocked, the plain could often be under water for weeks in spring, ruining the grain harvest.

Because the plain is so high, neither olive trees nor carob trees thrive here. Many residents have olive trees at lower altitudes, where their herds are brought in winter when snow falls in the mountains.

Windmills for irrigation were introduced in the 1920s; before that, hand-operated draw wells (gerani) were in use. Potatoes were only grown after the introduction of windmills; before that, cultivation was limited to more drought-resistant crops such as cereals (especially wheat) and pulses.

The plain was connected to the electricity grid in 1964/65; before that, oil lamps were used for lighting.

The characteristic wind turbines with white sails, which gave the plain the appearance of a large meadow of daisies in early summer, have now largely been replaced by water pumps with diesel engines due to the drop in the groundwater level. Many of the white sails have been retained for tourism, but no longer power pumps.

It's a strange feeling to drive up the small winding roads over the mountains, surrounded by the steep cliffs of the valleys and then suddenly gaze into this huge plain up in the mountains.Læs mere