If you are in Crete and don’t climb Psiloritis with the intention of reaching Anogia, it’s like you haven’t been to Crete at all. It’s not just the picturesque village that makes it unique, it’s that Anogia is Crete. From the inimitable flavours of the cuisine, to the Anogian people, who will never miss an opportunity to sit at your table and tell you a story, the main thing that makes this place special is because it’s the birth place of the famous Greek singer Nikos Xylouris.
Anogia setting the example
The village is among the 55 Best Tourist Villages 2024 as highlighted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization meeting criteria surrounding sustainable tourism and community development.
In fact, this year’s Best Tourist Villages award includes 2 Cypriot villages, Kalopanayiotis and Pissouri.
The 55 best villages were selected from 260 nominations submitted by more than 60 WTO member states.
The WTO Best Tourism Village initiative which launched in 2021, was set up to upgrade the role of tourism in rural areas, contributing to the preservation of the landscape, cultural diversity, local values and gastronomic traditions, and the gastronomic traditions of Anogia go without saying. After all, this is one of the main reasons why even Cretans themselves visit it at every opportunity.
The villages are evaluated based on 9 criteria: For Cultural and Natural Resources, Promotion and Preservation of Cultural Resources, Economic, Social, Environmental Sustainability, Tourism Development and Value Chain Integration, Governance and Prioritization of Tourism, Infrastructure and Connectivity and, finally, Health and Safety.
