English
The beach is located about 1 km east of the famous lagoon of Elafonisi and 76 km southwest of the city of Chania. It is filled with juniper trees that look like cedars and sand dunes. The cedar forest stretches along the beach in an area of about 110 acres. The beach has white sand and the sea crystal clear turquoise waters. It is mostly rocky but there are several spots with sand.
The cedar forest is an ideal place for camping and is a popular destination for naturists. There are no facilities nearby so it is suggested to have water and supplies with you. What makes the cedar forest unique is that it has remained one of the last untouched paradises. The most isolated places but without trees and natural shade are located between the beach and the church of Agios Ioannis, which is located about 2 km east.
The area belongs to the NATURA 2000 network. According to Community and national legislation, the “cedar forest” is a priority habitat and belongs to the “coastal cedar sand dunes” with two species of these trees, Juniperus macrocarpa and Juniperus phoenicea. These trees are very vulnerable to human intervention and the visitor is advised not to approach them. Note that cedars have an extremely slow growth and every small piece of wood that is removed will take many decades to grow back.
To get there the visitor must drive approximately 2 km east of Elafonisi and follow a dirt track road with many junctions and without signposts. The dirt road ends in a parking lot from where a downhill path of sand and pebbles begins, about 600 meters long that ends at the beach.