Limnakaro ( el, Λιμνάκαρο) is a small (approx. 1000 m in the E-W direction and 600 m in the N-S)

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

located south of the

Lasithi Plateau The Lasithi Plateau ( el, Οροπέδιο Λασιθίου, ''Oropedio Lasithiou''), sometimes spelt Lassithi Plateau, is a high endorheic plateau, located in the Lasithi regional unit in eastern Crete, Greece. Since the 1997 Kapodistrias reform, ...

, near the villages of Avrakondes and Agios Georgios in eastern

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

.Harriet Blitzer, Pastoral Life in the Mountains of Crete. An Ethnoarchaelogical Perspective
in ''Expedition'', vol. 32, No 3, 1990, pp. 34-41; archive
here
/ref> Limnakaro lies at about 1120 m above sea level, at the feet of the Spathi summit that rises to 2148 m. Because of its altitude, the plateau is mainly used as

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

grounds for sheep and goats. It has a rich wild flora and grows a number of walnut, pear, apple and chestnut trees. Despite a very small number of houses, there are no permanent residents at the plateau. At its western part there is a double

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

church dedicated to the Holy Spirit (Agio Pnevma) that dates back to the second

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

period (i.e., 961-1204). The church was expanded in 1875 and has been recently restored. Limnakaro is on the

European walking route E4 The E4 European long distance path or E4 path is one of the European long-distance paths. Starting at Tarifa Andalusia, located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, across the Strait of Gibraltar facing Morocco, it continues throug ...

; at a height of 1350m to its southwest in the Anestasi area there is a mountain shelter.

References

{{coord, 35, 8, 31.27, N, 25, 28, 57.76, E, region:GR_type:landmark, display=title Landforms of Lasithi Plateaus of Crete

See also

References