Melidoni Crete September 1 2019-Melidoni cave, an amazing historical and archaeological cave with the impressive formations of the stalactites and stalagmites.; Shutterstock ID 1501663331; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1501663331

Melidoni Cave

Top choice in Rethymno Province

LoginSave

About 2km outside the village of Melidoni is this stunning cathedral-like cave, an evocative underworld of stalactites and stalagmites. A place of worship since Neolithic times, it also carries heavy historical significance as the site of a massacre in 1824 during the Turkish occupation. Here 370 villagers and 30 soldiers sought refuge from the Ottoman army; after a three-month siege, the Turks lit a fire and asphyxiated the people inside, including 340 women and children.

Wear decent walking shoes, as the cave is poorly lit and the ground uneven and slippery in places. You’ll need to descend 70 steps into the cave. Also bring a sweater: at 24m below ground, the temperature never gets above 18°C.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • June 10, 2017: Visitors at the ancient ruins of the Minoan Palace of Knossos. 1033165021 ancient, antique, archaeological, archeology, architecture, art, building, civilization, columns, crete, culture, destination, europe, famous, fresco, greece, greek, heraklion, historic, historical, knossos, labyrinth, landmark, mediterranean, minoan, minos, minotaur, monument, mythology, old, painting, palace, people, pillars, place, reconstruction, relief, ruins, sightseeign, site, sky, stone, structure, summer, tourism, travel, visit, wall

    Palace of Knossos

    24.88 MILES

    Crete’s most famous historical attraction is the Palace of Knossos, the grand capital of Minoan Crete, located 5km south of the city of Iraklio. The…

  • the ancient city of Gortyna or Gortys, to the south of Heraklion prefecture.; Shutterstock ID 2228390937; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 2228390937 aerial photography, amphitheater, ancient, ancient greece, ancient site of tylissos, antiquity, archaeological, archaeological site, archeology, architectural, architecture, attraction, bronze, building, city, civilization, cretan, crete, culture, destination, details from the air, documentary tylissos, educational photography, famous, gortyna, gortys, greece, greek, history, island, king minos, mediterranean, minoan, minoan culture, minoans, old, outdoors, past, picturesque, ruin, sightseeing, site, stone, summer, theater, tourism, touristic, traditional, travel, vacations

    Gortyna

    25.07 MILES

    Gortyna (also Gortyn or Gortys) has been inhabited since Neolithic times but reached its pinnacle after becoming the capital of Roman Crete from around 67…

  • Ruins of the ancient Minoan Palace of Phaistos (Festos) with the Messara mountains in the background. 354488120 aegean, age, ancient, archaeological, architecture, backdrop, background, blue, bronze, building, city, civilization, cretan, crete, culture, faistos, famous, festos, greece, greek, history, horizontal, island, landscape, legacy, mediterranean, messara, minoan, mountain, old, outdoors, palace, past, phaestos, phaistos, place, plain, plateau, remains, romantic, ruin, scenic, site, sky, stone, summer, temple, tourism, travel, tree, view, wall

    Phaestos

    23.09 MILES

    Phaestos was the second-most-important Minoan palace-city after Knossos and enjoys an awe-inspiring setting with panoramic views of the Messara Plain and…

  • The main church of Arkadi Monastery, symbol of the struggle of Cretans against the Ottoman Empire , Rethymno, Crete, Greece.; Shutterstock ID 586702175; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 586702175

    Moni Arkadiou

    7.62 MILES

    The 16th-century Arkadi Monastery, 23km southeast of Rethymno, has deep significance for Cretans. As the site where hundreds of cornered locals massacred…

  • Historical Museum of Crete

    Historical Museum of Crete

    22.59 MILES

    If you’re wondering what Crete’s been up to for the past, say, 1700 years, a spin around this engagingly curated museum is in order. Exhibits hopscotch…

  • Tourists looking at the Phaistos Disc inside the archaeological museum of Heraklion in Crete that hold the most important and complete collection of the Minoan civilisation of Crete on the 28th of August 2022 in Crete, Greece. Many of the artefacts in the museum come from Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on the Greek island of Crete. (photo by Andrew Aitchison / In pictures via Getty Images) 1245671474 aitchison, greek, heraklion, neolithic, phaistos disc, archaeological, artefacts, ceremonial, civilization, culture, explore, holiday, remains, statues, tourists, viewing

    Heraklion Archaeological Museum

    22.98 MILES

    This state-of-the-art museum is one of the largest and most important in Greece. The two-storey revamped 1930s Bauhaus building makes a gleaming showcase…

  • The path to the cave of Zeus; Shutterstock ID 1827561248; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1827561248

    Ideon Cave

    13.02 MILES

    Although just a huge and fairly featureless hole in the ground, Ideon has sacred importance in mythology as the place where Zeus was reared by his mother,…

  • ELEUTHERNA, CRETE, GREECE - March 19, 2019. Inside the museum of the archaeological site of ancient Eleutherna, Rethimno; Shutterstock ID 1387762328; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi 1387762328

    Museum of Ancient Eleutherna

    5.28 MILES

    A must-see for anyone visiting the ruins of Eleutherna is the accompanying modern museum that contextualises the ancient city through the exhibition of…

View more attractions

Nearby Rethymno Province attractions

1. Paraschakis Olive Oil Factory

0.45 MILES

If you're out this way for Melidoni Cave, tack on a visit to this nearby olive-oil factory for a lowdown on the production process. Its welcoming American…

2. Klados Winery

2.95 MILES

While Iraklio gets all the plaudits as Crete's main wine producer, Rethymno has the honour of being the first place in Greece to be named a 'European City…

3. Episkopi

3.25 MILES

This charming village, 9km southeast of Melidoni, served as a bishopric under Venetian rule and is a maze of lanes lined with well-preserved stone…

4. Livadi

3.46 MILES

Brown-sand Livadi is Bali's biggest and widest beach, with bit of a party vibe. It’s packed with chairs and umbrellas, and bars, tavernas and cafes run…

5. Varkotopo

3.47 MILES

Bali's most central beach – between Livadi and Limani – is this pretty strip of sand flanked by young palm trees. There are some quite classy bars here…

6. Church of Agios Yiorgos

3.55 MILES

Ecclesiastic-art fans should stop in town at Panormo’s parish church, which has some stunning modern frescoes.

7. Basilica of Aghia Sophia

3.55 MILES

Coins unearthed in Panormo indicate that a village flourished here between the 1st and 9th centuries AD, but the only in situ evidence from this period…

8. Panormo Beach

3.56 MILES

There's no one main beach in Panormo but a series of small, attractive coves with brown sand and a brilliant turquoise sea. The tiny swoop of sand at the…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting: 
    {
  "url": "greece/crete/rethymno/attractions/melidoni-cave/a/poi-sig/1459069/359437",
  "destination": "Rethymno-Province",
  "continent": "Europe",
  "country": "Greece",
  "region": "Rethymno-Province",
  "position": "superzone"
}