Vothonas or Lakoudia plateau

Vothonas is a very small plateau, near to the village Vafes, located 40km south of Chania. It can be accessed from Vafes via by a passable dirt road. The landscape of the surrounding mountains is spectacular, with majestic views to the White Mountains and the shores of Georgioupolis.

It is a solitary, well-sheltered, fertile plateau at an altitude of 600m, which is covered by thick grass, a few scattered trees and a cistern with fresh water. It is believed that it was once a lake. Currently it is used as pasture by the shepherds of the surrounding villages.

During the Ottoman rule, Plateau Vothonas was used by the Ibrahim Pasha Alidakis for protecting his horses. Alidakis was a notorious Turkish-Cretan who lived in the tower of the nearby village Brosnero and was one of the wildest Janissaries of Crete. He used to steal the properties of the Christians and their flocks. During the revolution of 1770, the Christians gathered and started besieging his tower, till they killed Alidakis and his 180 guards.

Moreover, the settlement Plakoures near Vothonas plateau hosted the first meeting of the revolutionary assembly which elected the Provisional Government of Crete. The government constituted of the John Sfakianakis, Eleftherios Venizelos (later Greek Prime Minister), Emmanuel Hatzidakis, George Zacharakis, Giamalakis, which ruled Crete until 1898, when Prince George arrived from Greece.