Set in an organic farm in the ever-green valley of Lagada, Avdou
villas is the place to rest, heal and, maybe, change... An eco-tourism
facility, Avdou villas offers an alternative way of getting away from it all.
Avdou village lies deep in the Cretan inland, right at the foot of the Lassithi
plateau mountain range...
Avdou lies deep in the middle of the "Lagada" valley, 33 km from
the city of Heraklion, with about 600 inhabitants. The earliest recorded
reference to "Avdou" is in 1381, in a Venetian state document stating
the area as a benefice belonging to Michel Quirino.
Excavations in the area unearthed a building with mosaics, probably part of
an extensive complex of an early-Christian basilica. The village is dotted with
frescoed Byzantine churches.
Near the Avdou settlement there are two caves, Faneromeni
and Haghia Fotini, where archaeologists found artefacts dating
back to the Neolithic period, in Minoan Crete when they were probably used as
worship grounds.
Avdou probably took its name from the prophet Havdeu whose
church existed in nearby Kontaria.