Pano Hersonissos (Old Hersonissos) | District of Heraklion

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Pano Hersonissos

(also known as Ano Hersonissos or Old Hersonissos) is a small village located in the hills east of Heraklion at the coordinates

+35° 18' 28.052" North,

+25° 22' 17.301" East.

It's a small town with a population of

1115 inhabitants, as per the greek national census of 2011, (source Wikipedia.gr),

is part of the Municipality of Heraklion since 2011 and

has retained its traditional pleasant look

made of low buildings

(almost never more than two floors and often made of stone), of narrow streets and quiet rhythm.

Here, in the summer evenings, on the main street and in the small central square (which becomes a
	pedestrian zone in this season) you will find several good tavernas with tables outside and also everymonday live music or traditional dances (this happened till 2014 and we hope it will continue also for 2015).

You are just 4 kilometers from Limenas Hersonissos (the port of Hersonissos) but here in Pano Hersonissos everything is far away and everything is indeed so different from the very close coastline, full of summer attractions of every kind and nature, famous for its lively summer night life, that includes some of the most known and developed tourist areas of Crete (from Malia and Stalida up to Kato Gouves is a continous series of resorts and tourist facilities).

Pano Hersonissos is also the nodal point on the road leading to the area (Kasteli) where they are building the new international airport that will replace the "N. Katsantsakis" of Heraklion.

From here starts the provincial road leading first to the water playground "Acqua Plus" (3 km far and the largest of its kind in Crete) and to a golf course (18 holes) and then continuing on through Potamiès, the dam and the artificial lake of Sfendili,

Avdoù, Goniès and Monì Kardiotissas (suggestive Byzantine monastery) reaches the 866 meters average altitude of the plateau of Lassithi and the surrounding villages (Tzermiado and Agios Georgios are here the major villages).

A plateau this of Lassithi generated from the crater of an volcano extinct in the distant past and for this very fertile and densely cultivated today, was once known as the "valley of the windmills" because there were here in large numbers, used for the

extraction of groundwater and as motive power in the agricultural work, today there are only very few.
	The area, however, has not only recent history and environmental value, as it lies on the slopes of Dikti that with 2,148 mt. of its highest peak, the Spathì, is the third highest mountain range of the island but has also

a real historical and mythological value because here are the beautiful caves of Psychro (the Diktèon
	àndron) that are considered the mythical birthplace of Zeus, and that in the many archaeological excavations made have brought to light religious and votive objects ranging from the Neolithic up to the Roman era.

The Diktèon àndron is full of stalactites and stalagmites and has a surface total of 2,200 square meters entirely visitable.

To reach Pano Hersonissos, the way to follow coming from Heraklion is the New National Road E75, north coast of Crete, towards Malia and Agios Nikolaos.

The airport is at 22,2 km. and the port of Heraklion

at 25,3 km. (data extracted from Google earth).

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