The lower springs
Water pouring through rock and moss in a run of small falls.
C messier โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Dietmar Rabich โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Dietmar Rabich โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Dietmar Rabich โ CC BY-SA 4.0
**A village of waterfalls on a dry island** โ and that contradiction is what makes it a destination: while Crete bakes in August, here there is running water under giant plane trees and air several degrees cooler. The village is **split in two**: the upper part is an ordinary hill village with a square and a church, and the **lower** part is the point of it โ a **spring** area where water pours out through rock and moss in a series of small waterfalls, threaded with **old watermills** and tavernas built over the streams themselves, so you eat with the water running under your feet. Underneath it is history: the village stands on the ancient city of **Lappa**, and scattered around it are a **Roman mosaic**, a **rock-cut necropolis** with burial chambers, and the **Church of the Five Virgins**. There are also **trout farms**, whose fish is cooked in the local tavernas. โ The whole thing is **small**: one to two hours is enough.
Water pouring through rock and moss in a run of small falls.
Tables on running water and trout from the village farms.
A Roman mosaic and rock-cut tombs scattered round the village.
Argyroupoli, 74100 Rethymno, Crete
**Geology, not climate.** Crete is mountainous and its rock is **limestone**, which is porous and swallows rainfall instead of letting it run on the surface โ which is why the island has almost no permanent rivers and its valleys are dry most of the year. But that water does not disappear: it sinks into the rock and travels underground until it hits an **impermeable** layer it cannot pass, then comes out sideways from the mountainside as a **spring**. Argyroupoli sits at one of the most productive of these points in western Crete, fed by rainfall on the Lefka Ori. That is why the water never stops, even in August: what you see today is last winter's rain emerging after a journey through the mountain. The ancients knew it โ **Lappa** was not built here by accident.
**Yes โ it is one of the better children's stops in the area**, with two conditions. The appeal is obvious: running water everywhere, little bridges, visible fish, bearable heat at the height of summer, and tavernas where a child sits with water running underneath. โ But **the first condition is footwear**: the stones are wet and **genuinely slippery**, and smooth sandals will not do โ gripping soles for everyone. โ **The second is supervision**: most edges have no railing, the water is cold and fast in places, and a small child needs a hand. Add that **a pushchair is entirely impractical** on these walkways โ a back carrier is far better with a baby.
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