Plakias

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Plakias and Selia

Plakias (Greek Πλακιάς) is a village on the south coast of the Greek island of Crete, in the Rethymno Prefecture, about 30 kilometres south of the city of Rethymno. It is part of the municipality Foinikas. It is surrounded by mountains to the north and the Libyan Sea to the south.

The former town of fishermen developed in the last few decades into a tourist resort. The first official notice of Plakias was in 1961, when it was mentioned in a census as the permanent home of six fishermen. The history of surrounding mountain villages like Myrthios and Sellia goes back into the 10th century, when the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (961 AD) built roads and bridges in order to link those villages.

Plakias has a 1300 meter long sandy beach and several smaller coves on a walking distance. The south-eastern part of the beach is used by nudists. A bit further away is the Monastery of Preveli, which, due to its isolated position, played an important role in Cretan revolts against occupying forces such as against the Nazis in World War II. Plakias is home to Youth Hostel Plakias, famous among international backpackers and the 'most southerly hostel' in Europe.

There are two roads into Plakias through the mountain range which lies to its north, both of which run through gorges - to the north of Plakias, the Kotsifos Gorge, and to the northeast, the Kourtaliotiko Gorge.