Welcome

to the enchanting lake

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The lake of Zaros with its calm immovable surface generously offers tranquility and relaxation to its guests. Surrounded by trees and lush vegetation, it reflects the beauty of the landscape in its waters.

For those who prefer to discover the hiking trails of the region, the lake can become a starting point of a hiking trip or a nice place to rest after the journey. p>

Enjoy your coffee, your ice cream, fresh juices and snacks, or your food with the wonderful view of the lake before your eyes!

Historical facts

Until 1987, there was just a small wetland formed by the cavity of the Votomos spring on the site of the lake.

It acquired its current form in 1987, when the Forest Service revived the area and created an artificial lake where the waters of the spring are retained.

Mythology

They used to say that in the old days there was a threshing floor in place of the lake. This threshing floor belonged to a young woman. One day, when the sun was burning and there was no water, the woman and her oxen were so thirsty that she begged God to send her water.

God heard her prayers, the threshing floor became a marsh and the young woman disappeared.

Sites / Trails

choose Zaros and admire the magnificence of the scenery

ROUVAS FOREST

Rouvas forest is located 55 km south of Heraklion and 16 km north of Gergeri village, in one of the most impassable and isolated parts of Crete. This isolation is the main reason for its existence: due to the absence of human activity this forest fortunately did not follow the fate of the other vanished forests of Crete. The forest of Rouvas grows in a valley - a small plateau south of the Psiloritis mountain range.
The forest can be accessed from various points: from Gergeri and from the Nida Plateau through a passable dirt road, as well as by hiking on the E4 path that starts from the lake of Zaros, passes through the beautiful gorge of Agios Nikolaos and leads to the forest.

GORGE OF AGIOS NIKOLAOS

It is confined by Ambelakia peaks from the east and Samari peaks from the west. It is the most prominent gorge of Psiloritis and central Crete and was named after the Byzantine chapel located at its southern entrance. It crosses the impressive southern part of Psiloritis from north to south and connects Rouvas forest in the north with Koutsoulis river valley in the south, in the region of Zaros.

The gorge has a total length of 5 km. It starts north to Agios Ioannis Chapel - where a recreation area has been created - and ends at the monastery of Agios Nikolaos in the south. It can be passed in 4 hours.

ZAROS VILLAGE

A beautiful and picturesque Zaros village built in a green valley at the foothills of Psiloritis lies at an altitude of about 450 m, 45 km south to the city of Heraklion. Zaros occupies a large part of the southern mountain range of Ida, one of the most interesting mountains in Crete.

Famous for its abundant waters, lush vegetation, its gorge, its Byzantine monasteries and its churches, Zaros is visited every day by many guests who very soon become its fans.

MOUNTAIN PSILORITIS

Mythological and sacred in antiquity, mountain Psiloritis or Ida is the highest mountain of Crete (2 456 m) and one of the highest mountains of Greece. In addition to its rich forests, Ida - "the rich in springs" - according to Homer was rich in water. Herodotus refers to a "high places and covered by forests", which points to the dense vegetation of the mountain, while Pharaoh Thutmose (1501-1477 BC) supplied timber from the forests of Crete for shipbuilding, which confirms the state of the vegetation mentioned by Herodotus. The remaining vegetation today is the forests of Rouvas and Trigiodo, Vorizia Gorge etc.

while the lower mountainsides are rich in maples, oaks, cypresses, strawberry trees, schinus etc.
The scenery of the region is one of the richest in Crete with a diversity of landscapes, forming a multitude of natural formations such as small canyons, mountain valleys and mountain ranges in the north. To the south, the main mountain range Psiloritis is formed around the Nida plateau.