Lasithi

Lasithi is the easternmost of Crete's four regional units, a swathe of mountain, plateau and coast that trades the crowds of the west for a slower, more spacious feel. Its capital is the lakeside town of Agios Nikolaos, on the sweeping bay of Mirabello, and its resorts range from upmarket Elounda to the family beaches of the north coast. Inland and along the wilder south, the region keeps a strong sense of traditional Crete.

The area takes its name from the Lasithi Plateau, a fertile upland ringed by mountains at around 840 metres, once dotted with thousands of white-sailed windmills, more properly wind-pumps, built from the 1920s to draw up irrigation water. Most now stand idle, but the ranks of stone towers and the patchwork of small farms remain one of the most distinctive landscapes on the island. On the plateau's edge, above the village of Psychro, the Dikteon Cave is revered in myth as the birthplace of Zeus.

Lasithi's coast holds some of Crete's most memorable sights. In the Gulf of Mirabello, boats cross to the fortified islet of Spinalonga, a Venetian sea fort that served as a leper colony until 1957 and later inspired Victoria Hislop's novel The Island. Far to the east, beyond the port town of Sitia, lies the exotic palm forest and beach of Vai, the largest natural palm grove in Europe, and the remote Minoan palace of Zakros. On the south coast, Ierapetra is the southernmost town in Europe, basking in a near-African climate.

Getting around Lasithi means driving or taking buses from Agios Nikolaos, itself about an hour east of Heraklion and its airport along the coastal highway. Distances are longer and roads slower than in the west, which is part of the appeal: this is the Crete of quiet coves, mountain villages and unhurried tavernas. Late spring and early autumn are ideal, when the plateau is green, the sea is warm and the eastern beaches are at their best without the peak-summer crush.