Riza village: Beaches, Stays, Things to do

Riza is a charming village situated at an altitude of 540 m in the southern parts of the Dikti mountain range, at the borders of the province of Ierapetra-Viannos in the Lasithi Region of Crete. The village is home to retired citizens, animal and bee farmers, and Athens immigrants of the Riza community. Despite its small size, Riza is a lively place with a bustling square and a lively tavern-coffee house built by the local association. The village is known for its vibrant community, where citizens from the entire region gather every day to indulge in coffee, raki, and proclaim their love for their village. The renowned musician of traditional Cretan music, Manolis Alexakis, hails from Riza, and the inhabitants are proud to tout this fact.

The village offers breathtaking views of the olive-covered hills of the southern horizon and the Libyan Sea. Visitors can witness the remarkable beauty of Riza and its surrounding areas from high observatories erected by local associations or explore places such as the little plateau featuring a quaint old church or along cliffs with serene gulfs and gorges. The area is also home to stunning pine trees, hollies, cypresses, and more, adding to the magical atmosphere that permeates the body with an incomparable sense of serenity. A trip to Riza is an experience like no other, and visitors are sure to be captivated by the natural beauty and vibrant community of this charming village.

Things to do in Riza

Things to do in Riza are the walks, villages and archaeological sites spread through the hills below the Dikti range, with Myrtos and its coast about 4 km away. The village square is the starting point, and nothing on the list is more than 9 km out. The items below run outwards from Riza.

1. Look around Gdohia. The neighbouring village sits 1.4 km from Riza at 225 metres, beside the Ierapetra to Viannos provincial road, 22 km from Ierapetra. Olive groves surround it, and its old stone houses carry chiselled doorframes and coats of arms bearing the Christian cross. Pirates from the Barbary Coast raided it repeatedly, and its name comes from the verb “gdyno”, meaning to skin, set fire or devastate. Its settlements stand apart from one another and take the names of the families who live in them.
2. Look into the Holy Apostles gorge. The canyon, also called Lapathos, lies 1.6 km from Riza on the southern side of Mount Dikti, near Kato Simi and 28 km west of Ierapetra. It starts at the small plateau of Lapathos, where the Holy Apostles church stands, and ends on the road between Pefkos and Ierapetra, covering about 4 km with a height difference of some 900 metres. This is a technical canyon, so crossing it needs proper gear and training, as Holy Apostles Gorge makes clear.
3. Hike the Sarakina gorge. The canyon is 4.1 km from the village, near Mythi and the coastal settlement of Myrtos, where the Kryos river meets the sea. It runs only 1.5 km, and Greek mythology accounts for it: Sarantapihos, the giant son of Zeus, stopped to drink from the Kryos river and his sweeping beard cut the mountain in two. The walk is described on Sarakina Gorge.
4. Spend a day in Myrtos. The seaside village lies 4.4 km from Riza and 13 km west of Ierapetra, where the Kryos river comes out of the Sarakina Gorge into a valley of greenhouses and citrus groves. It holds small hotels, bars, cafes, restaurants, supermarkets, a petrol station and a clinic, with a pharmacy nearby and a bus route to Ierapetra. Development has stayed mild, and the village is covered on Myrtos village.
5. See the sites around Myrtos. Three of them sit between 4.2 km and 4.6 km from Riza: the Museum, the Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite and the Pyrgos Myrtos Archaeological Site.
6. Add the two further gorges. The Panagia Keralimeniotissa Gorge is 5.3 km from Riza and the Arvi Gorge 8.7 km.

Eating and drinking starts at the square. Lefkothea Taverna Snack Bar is 200 m from the centre of Riza. Down in Myrtos, between 4.2 km and 4.5 km away, sit To Filotimo, La Sera Restaurant, “O Platanos” Restaurant Snack-Bar, Café Livyko and “Lambros” Taverna.

Beaches in and around Riza

Beaches in and around Riza all lie on the Libyan Sea coast below the village, because Riza itself stands 540 m up in the Dikti range. 5 of them sit within 7 km, strung along the shore between Myrtos and Psari Forada. Vatos is the closest, 3.8 km away.

• Vatos beach lies 3.8 km from Riza, 18 km west of Ierapetra and 3 km east of Myrtos, reached by the asphalt road that links Myrtos and Tertsa. The beach runs east towards Myrtos with several secluded coves along the way, and its grey pebbles are typical of southern Crete. The water is deep and the settlement is undeveloped, so the shore usually stays quiet.
• Kalikovrechtis beach sits 3.9 km from Riza and 4 km east of Myrtos, at the exit of the Kalikovrechtis stream between the peaks of Kolechtos and Kako Oros, on the boundary between the counties of Heraklion and Lasithi. Only a handful of cottages stand there and the beach itself is untouched, with fine greyish pebbles and usually calm water. A few tamarisk trees give shade, and the high steep slopes put the beach in shadow early in the afternoon.
• Myrtos beach is 4.3 km from Riza, a long beach of coarse grey sand that does not stick to the skin. It is sheltered from strong winds, which makes it a calm choice for families, and the village behind it has shops, tavernas and a clinic.
• Tertsa beach lies 4.5 km from Riza, at a small village between Myrtos and Psari Forada in a valley cut by the Tsounas river, with a freshwater spring in the small gorge the river forms. The buildings here began as storage depots for carobs and citrus fruit, and the few villagers still farm, with greenhouses of bananas and fields of tomato, pepper and cucumber.
• Sidonia beach stands 6.8 km from Riza, also called Syndonia, Kato Psari or Psari Forada beach, 1 km south of Psari Forada village and 9 km east of Ano Viannos. It is thought to stand on the site of the ancient town of Sidonia, and it began as a coastal settlement for fishermen and farmers from Kalami, 9 km to the north. The valley is warm enough for olives, bananas and early outdoor vegetables, and Psari Forada has seen modest tourist development.