Plaka (Lasithi)

Plaka is a village in

Lasithi Lasithi ( el, Λασίθι) is the easternmost regional unit on the island of Crete, to the east of Heraklion. Its capital is Agios Nikolaos, the other major towns being Ierapetra and Sitia. The mountains include the Dikti in the west and the Th ...

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, ...

. It is part of the community Vrouchas, in the municipal unit Agios Nikolaos. It neighbours the town of

Elounda Elounda ( el, Ελούντα, Elúnda), alternatively transliterated as Elounta or Elouda, is a small town on the northern coast of the island of Crete, Greece. It is part of the municipality of Agios Nikolaos. Settlement structure Elounda is f ...

and is close to the historical island of

Spinalonga Spinalonga ( el, Σπιναλόγκα) is an island located in the Gulf of Elounda in north-eastern Crete, in Lasithi, next to the town of Plaka. The island is further assigned to the area of Kalydon. It is near the Spinalonga peninsula ("larg ...

. In the vicinity are the ancient cities (now in

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

) of

Olous Olous or Olus ( grc, Ὄλους, or ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' § 350.) was a city of ancient Crete; now sunken, it was situated at the present day town of Elounda, Crete, Greece. According to the ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'', it had a harbour and w ...

and

Lato Lato ( grc, Λατώ, Latṓ) was an ancient city of Crete, the ruins of which are located approximately 3 km from the village of Kritsa. History The Dorian city-state was built in a defensible position overlooking Mirabello Bay betw ...

, which Dorian settlements were frequently in conflict with each other over territory disputes. Tourist boats depart from Plaka to

on a daily basis. The one way boat passage requires approximately ten minutes. The village features prominently in the novel '' The Island'' by

Victoria Hislop Victoria Hislop (née Hamson; born 1959) is an English author. Early life Born in Bromley, Kent, she was raised in Tonbridge and attended Tonbridge Grammar School. She studied English at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and worked in publishing and ...

and its TV adaptation

To Nisi ''To Nisi'' (Greek: ''Το Νησί''; English: ''The Island'') is a Greek television series based on the best-selling English novel '' The Island'' by Victoria Hislop airing on Mega Channel. The series premiered on 11 October 2010 to record rati ...

. Populated places in Lasithi {{Crete-geo-stub