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Towering above the remote valley, the 2,456-m (8,060-ft) peak of Mt Idi, also called Ida and Psiloritis, is the highest mountain in Crete. Marked walking trails (see Climbing Mt Idi) lead to the summit from the Nida Plateau, 23 km (14 miles) by road from Anogeia village.

According to Greek myth, Zeus, chief of the Olympian gods, was raised in this enormous cavern, 20 minutes’ walk from the Nida Plateau. In ancient times this was a place of pilgrimage. Artifacts such as bronze shields, which were left as offerings to Zeus in the 8th century BC, are in the Irakleio Archaeological Museum. The cavern is open daily.

A Venetian clocktower on the main square is one of the older buildings in the valley. Just outside the village, some of Crete’s oldest Christian frescoes, dated 1225, are in Agia Anna church.

This cave, where remarkable Minoan pottery known as Kamares ware was discovered, is a four-hour trek from Kamares village. This sacred site was dedicated to the goddess Eileithyia.

The church of Agios Eftihios, at the village of Hromonastiri, contains faded frescoes, dating from the 11th century, which may be the oldest of their kind in Crete.

German artist Karen Raeck’s work, to the north of the Nida Plateau, is a winged figure outlined in huge natural stone boulders .

The 14th-century church of the Panagia at Thronos contains striking frescoes and traces of mosaics from an earlier basilica. Nearby are the ruins of a Hellenistic city.

The monastery of Asomaton, built in the Venetian era, is now deserted and spooky. It stands in a fertile oasis of plane trees, palms and eucalyptus.

The church of St John the Divine, built in the 13th century, stands by the road just north of Kardaki village. The fine frescoes were painted in 1347.

A pretty village set in stunning mountain scenery, Fourfouras is one of the jumping-off spots for the ascent of Mt Idi and some of the less challenging hikes on the Psiloritis massif.