At the mouth of the Mega River, where the imposing Kourtaliotikos Gorge ends, is located the famous Lake Preveli or Phoenix beach. To get there you just need to follow the road to the Preveli Monastery and turn left on a dirt road just before arriving at the monastery, then park at the end of the road. Following you have to walk up to the sandy beach which is actually compensates the visitor as it looks like a tropical scenery full of palm trees. The stream flowing into the sea and the wild vegetation create a wonderful setting that everyone has to enjoy.

79 km from Rethymno in the area of Psiloritis, there is the famous Nida Plateau, where the cave Ideon Andron hosted the newborn Zeus.

In Nida, which is used as a pasture in the summer, one can admire the famous Mitata, the stone vaulted buildings where shepherds live. There is also a ski center in Nida which operates during the winter.

Located 27 kilometers from Rethymno, following the old national road of Rethymno – Chania, you arrive in Argyroupolis. The village was built in the place of ancient Lappa and it is worth visiting the rich springs of Agia Dynami where inside the cave there is the related chapel.

The gorge of Kourtaliotis with the imposing slopes that reach a height of 600 meters, starts from the village of Koxare and ends at the Preveli lake. It is a wonderful gorge worth visiting.
Following the steps at the side of street Koxare – Asomatos, you reach the bottom of the gorge where the church of Agios Nikolaos is located. The gorge is crossed by the Big River, which is called Kourtaliotis at this point.

The gorge of Kotsyfos starts at Kanevos village and ends at Plakias. The starting point is very narrow with a width of about 10m which gradually increases and reaches 600 m. Its total length is 1.800 m, and the almost vertical sides reach a height of 600m. Inside the gorge there is a small temple, built inside a rocky cavity.

The gorge of Patsos, is easy to trek since it is managed by the Forest Service in combination with the cavernous church of St. Anthony, provides an excellent destination for small excursions and picnic.

The Arkadi gorge starts north of the Arkadi Monastery and after a scenic route it ends in the village of Pikris where the visitor can admire important Venetian architectural monuments.

Finally, the Prassano gorge, starting south of Prasses village, it offers a three-hour walk through the impressive rocks and through some relatively hard accesses, which make the passage very interesting.

Ideon Antron is located on the eastern slopes of Mount Ida (Psiloritis), in the plateau of Nida
The distance of the cave from Anogia is 24km and from Rethymno it’s 78km.
It is situated at an altitude of 1538 m with a huge entrance which impresses every visitor in the first place. The cave is outsized with a large central hall and a side tunnel of 22 m long. According to the legend, Zeus was grown up in the cave so it became an important worship center in both Minoan and Roman times. The findings of the interior excavations which are still in progress include important findings among them pottery, gold jewellery, metal objects and also the famous bronze shields. Due to the excavations in progress the cave is not accessible to the public.

The excavation research still carried out in the Melidoni cave indicate that it had been inhabited continuously as a worship center from the early late Neolithic Era till the Roman period. According to inscription evidence it was related with the worship of Hermes. Moreover, the cave has played a tragic role in the history of Cretan revolution against the Turks, when 370 inhabitants of Melidoni died in the cave from asphyxiation caused by smoke in January of 1824. In the first chamber of the cave, there has been placed an ossuary with the bones of heroes. The cave is open to visitors.

In the cave of Gerani with the magnificent stalagmite decoration and the 6 chambers, according to archaeological research, were found besides the three human skeletons, also a number of bone and stone tools of the Neolithic Age. Bones were also found, belonging to over one hundred native deer that must have died at the end of the Pleistocene Era. Apparently the three human skeletons found in the cave since they were trapped inside probably because of an earthquake.

Sfendoni Cave of Zoniana village in Mylopotamos (47 km from Rethymno on the road Rethymno – Parama – Axos) has many stalactites and stalagmites of different colours and shapes which decorate the 14 rooms of the cave. Its length is 550 m and its total surface covers 3,330 sqm. In recent years archaeological research has identified a Neolithic settlement in the cave. The cave is open to visitors.

The cave of Agios Antonios in Patsos represents one more cave with a worship atmosphere since it has been proven by archaeological research that was an important center of worship from Late Minoan to Roman times. According to inscription, within the cave was worshiped by Hermes Kraneos. The church in the cave is dedicated to Saint Anthony, the protector of the children. The cave is open to visitors.

The prefecture of Rethymno boasts an abundance of olive groves and the production of olive oil is one of the inhabitant’s main occupation. The species of olives that are cultivated are mainly “chondrolies”, “koroneikes” and a few “tsounates”. These varieties produce olive oil as well as edible olives of excellent quality. The famous olive grove near Adele in the Municipality of Arkadi, which stretches in a vast lowland and semi-mountainous area, is considered one of the largest olive groves in the Mediterranean.
The area of Rethymno and generally the entire island of Crete has always been closely related with the olive tree and the production of olive oil.