The Gramvoussa peninsula is a large piece of rock that sticks out into the sea and is covered with thorny bushes, marjoram, sage, thyme and thousands of wild flowers. Gramvousa A dry and barren place with steep rocky shores, it hides at its northwestern part one of the last paradise lands of Crete. In cape Tigani there is a very wide beach with fine white sand, which is known as Balos Beach. Behind it is the steep slope of Mount Geroskinos (762m), while in front of it lie two desert islands, Agria and Imeri Gramvoussa, which look like two pirate ships turned into stone. The water is shallow and warm, and the sea floor is covered with the same white sand, which gives the sea an emerald green colour like that of the tropical Pacific Islands...

Gramvousa is ideal for camping, provided of course you have taken with you everything you need. At the one end of the beach there are two fishermen huts. Every summer their owners turn them into tavern-bars that serve a few basic dishes and soft drinks. However, it is best not to have to rely on them, because it is an amateur set up and they may close for days without prior warning. Due to its strategic location, Gramvoussa was fortified by the Venetians, who built a well-fortified castle on the top of a steepy rock at an altitude of 137 m. Construction on the castle of Gramvoussa started in 1579 and ended in 1582. It was destroyed in 1588, however, when thunder struck on the powder store.The castle was rebuilt in 1630. It was one of the three castles to remain under Venetian dominion after the Turkish occupation of Crete (the other two were those of Sitia and Spinalonga). Even though the castle was impregnable, during the Venetian-Turkish war the Italian commandant was bribed by the Turks and he gave over the castle in 1692.

During the Greek uprising against the Turks, Gramvoussa played an important and desicive role. After many attempts the castle was finally occupied by the Cretan revolutioners in 1825, when a team of Cretans disguised as Turks entered the castle. Gramvoussa was the first part of Crete to be liberated by the Turks. The rocky island became a shelter for over 3000 people, and a base of operations for the revolution teams. But it also became a base of pirates that plundered every ship that passed to the seas around the island, so with the agreement of the Greek Government a English-French garrison took over the island of Gramvoussa in 1828. Today, the high walls of the Gramvoussa are preserved, half ruined but awesome

Within a small bay opposite to Gramvousa there is the Balos lagoon. The beach at the lagoon is sandy with pinkish white sand and thousands of broken and intact seashells, with shallow water, very warm especially in summer. It is considered as one of the best beaches of the Mediterranean Sea, despite the tar problem, the muddy seabed, which may make walking on it a bit disgusting, and the occasionally bad odour of the water. More exciting is the sailing tour of the western peninsula, the Gramvousa peninsula. You will see the cave of Tersanas, the Balos lagoon and the islets Agria (Wild) Gramvousa, Imeri (Mild) Gramvousa and Pontikonisi.