Monastery of Koudoumas
The monastery of Koudoumas is very well protected by the imposing Asterousia Mountains, in the south of the cape of Martelos, and by the Libyan sea in the south.
The male monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in the southern coasts of Central Crete. It is built in the edge of a gorge in Asterousia Mountains, next to a line with sand and is surrounded by asymmetrical pine trees.
The monastery is 80 kilometers from Heraclion and it can be accessed through the Sternes village. Going up the Kofina Mountain you can see the dirt road that leads to the picturesque monastery which is surrounded by the wild beauty of the mountains of Crete and the clean sea of the southern side of the island.
The church of the monastery is dedicated to Panagia and is celebrated on the 15h of August. From the Eve of the celebration, a host of people reaches the monastery and spends the night in the guest houses and the beach in order to honor her grace.
The visitors can be hosted in the cells of the monastery, if they ask for it, and they can also cook their food in a place in the monastery, as long as they bring it with them.
Agios Eumenios and Agios Parthenios are honored by the monastery on the 10th of July. They are the monks that built the monastery in the 19th century. The temple was built in the 14th century and was dedicated to Christ. The monastery had been destroyed by pirates and desolated, but in 1871 the brothers, Parthenios and Eumenios Charitakis, built it from the beginning, on the ruins of the old temple.
The monastery has been renovated today and a second church was built in the honor of the two saints, Parthenios and Eumenios. Their relics are kept in the monastery.
The area of Koudoumas is suitable for the lovers of nature and especially for those who love camping, swimming in non- organized beaches and hiking.
Regarding hiking, there is a path that connects the monastery with the coastal settlement of Agios Ioannis, and another path that starts from the Paranimfi village and ends to the monastery. The magnificent forest of Koudoumas is along that path.
