Gortyna is a municipality located to the south of Heraklion, in Crete. This municipality has a variety of attractions, among which we can remark the spot where the remains of ancient Gortyna are and the town of Karytaina. Both of these places count with some unique attractive characteristics and tourists should always try to visit both while being in this region of Crete.
The remains of Gortnya have allowed archaeologists and historians to learn important facts about the ancient Greece and the way societies would function in that époque in that area of Greece. An important number of inscribed stones were among the main information sources for experts to learn that kind of information, providing data from as long ago as the 5th century BC.
Those tourists who enjoy disciplines such as archaeology and history would surely enjoy being able to meet some of these antique objects, exhibited at different places within this destination. Besides this, visitors can also meet several ancient constructions, such as, for example, an antique religious building which was the first Christian Church of Crete, built around the year 650 BC.
The town of Karytaina is other interesting place visitors can meet while being in the municipality of Gortyna. This town, seat of the municipality, is located near a variety of other attractive spots, such as Kalamata, Krestena, Dimitsana, Tripoli, and Andritsaina. The landscape offered by Karytaina is mainly composed by mountains, rocks, bushes, and green areas, as well as a few rivers and forests.
There is an important amount of interesting places tourists can visit while being in Karytaina. One of these places is the Castle of Karytaina, a construction that dates from the year 1245 and has the peculiarity of being built on the edge of a rocky spot. Besides this, while being in Karytaina, visitors could also meet the prefecture of Ilia, due to the fact that it borders with this area of Gortyna and is also a very appealing destination. Besides this, the prefecture of Ilia is connected to this municipality by a highway which allows tourists to easily visit both places by car or by bus.