Sfakia, which is considered the most authentic region of Crete, is located in the southern part of the prefecture of Chania in an area dominated by mountainous element with an inaccessible land, rocky and steep at a distance of about 71 km from the capital of the prefecture of Chania. The time you will need to reach is around 1.5 hours on a good road but in many places there are many turns, however, you will enjoy yourselves with the beautiful and impressive journey.
The town of Sfakia is washed by the Libyan Sea and its beautiful picturesque harbor with the small beach and the food shops that surround it, are giving to it a special picturesqueness.

The village, we can say that, is divided into 2 parts with the first around the old port, with the most tourist companies, hotels, inns and restaurants, while the other, on the east, is where the most of local people have their homes.
At the area of the old port there are small roads with several shops, where you can go and buy all the necessities.
With the sun to shine all year round, Sfakia is the sunniest region and the southernmost tip of Europe. The fact that there are virtually no industries, it makes the sea of Sfakia one of the cleanest you can find.
The drinking water comes from wells or from the mountains' springs, which end in the sea.
The food is very good with many traditional dishes and, of course, with fresh fish and many local flavors.
The Sfakians are very friendly and generous and Sfakia is offered to those seeking peaceful traditional holidays, a nice and quiet beach, or those who intend to try mountain climbing, diving and fishing.

On the east, in a short distance, is the new port that serves the coastal shipping and the vessel's visits.
On the west, after the end of the village and within a walking distance, you will find a small sand and pebbled beach, well organized with sun beds and umbrellas where you can swim in the crystal clear sea.

The tourist infrastructure of Sfakia is quite good with many choices for your food, taverns, cafes as well as several rooms that will make your stay pleasant, highlighting the traditional Cretan hospitality.

Sfakia can become the headquarters for your sightseeing to the surrounding areas. From here, you can catch one of the boats and to travel to beautiful places, at a short distance, like Loutro, St. Roumeli, Paleochora or to take the ferry to the island of Gavdos.

The Name
The name of Sfakia derives probably from "Sfax", which means earthy gap and it fits to it because of the many deep canyons of the region, without excluding the version that says that the Town of Sfakia was once called Sfikia and by a word corruption it became Sfakia..
There is also another version that claims that the name comes from a flower named Sfaka, which means very bitter.
Transportations
It has a regular ferry link with Agia Roumeli, from where the visitors of the gorge of Samaria come, to Sougia, Loutro, Paleochora and Gavdos island.

Sfakian diet
The Sfakian diet is based on meat and the dairy products, in unique combinations, such as lamb with yoghurt or lamb with butter etc.
It also includes the other products of the Mediterranean - Cretan diet, such as vegetables, legumes, cereals, fish, wine, etc. and sweets in small quantities.
It holds one of the most important positions in the general Cretan diet because of the peculiarities of the region such as the climate, the isolation and the ground, so has itself all the features of a full diet.

The tradition of Sfakian is great in cheese production because the main occupation of the inhabitants of the area is the animal farming, with excellent products like cheese, Gruyere, malaka (which is a non-seasoned cheese), Anthotyros fresh and dried, Myzithra, Xynomizithra, yoghurt, Stacka, etc.

Sfakians
Sfakians, the residents of Chora of Sfakia and of the surrounding area, boast that they are descendants of the Dorians who came in Crete 2000 years ago. Perhaps due to this there is the difference in appearance from the other Cretans. Here, you will see, much more than the rest of Crete, tall, strong, blond men and women with light colored eyes and skin.
Great sailors and great warriors, took the lead in all the struggles for freedom. The Great Cretan Revolutions against the Venetians and later against the Turks began in Sfakia, although the occupiers had never lived there.
So far, Sfakians remain authentic strong Cretans, hospitable and friendly enough, but you must be careful not to insult their honor, their wife, their pride and the country. Their excessive sense of honor was one of the reasons the feud (the take of the law into one's hand and the retaliation) had marked Sfakia more than any other area in Crete and plunged into mourning entire families.
In almost all homes there are weapons, which appear in weddings, baptisms and to each kind of party. The gunshot event is a show of joy.
Today, in Sfakia, the most residents are engaged in animal farming and less on agriculture and in recent years in tourism.

History. The Battle of Crete

In May 1941, Sfakia was a small fishing village that was the last lifeline to survival of the brave but defeated allied army in the Battle of Crete. On May 20, German airborne forces landed around Maleme and Chania. Faced with growing German aid and without cover from the air, the allied soldiers were forced to retreat giving Maleme and Chania (23 and 27 May respectively).

In Rethymnon, the Australians and the Greeks still held their positions, but they were excluded without an outlet of escape, and they couldn't go to Heraklion, so Chora of Sfakia in the south was the last hope of escape. The road, however, was rough, rugged and narrow, once they had to cross the mountainous backbone of Crete.




Thus, on May 27, exhausted and hungry, 16,000 British, New Zealanders, Australians and Greeks soldiers were ordered to move by foot to Sfakia. Throughout the course of this arduous journey, the allied troops were repeatedly setting up ambushes to Germans who were followed them.
The path was finished in 3 kilometers and 500 meters above the small beach of Sfakia. From 28 May and for four consecutive nights, 11,000 people managed to escape. British and Australian warships were arriving from Alexandria silently every night, were receiving their human cargo until 3:00 a.m. and were returning quickly to avoid the German airline patrols. However, the effort had an inglorious end when, on June 1, the Germans overtook the Australian rearguard, which was guarding the ridge above Sfakia and arrested 5,000 hungry and abandoned allied soldiers. The fate of these soldiers was four years of cruel captivity in Europe and the Cretans had to endure the German occupation and barbarity.