Kournas Lake | Chania | The Fresh Water Reserve of Crete with the Nibbler Fish

Author

George P. Papadellis | SG Head

Kournas Lake (or Lake Kourna or Koresia Lake due to the ancient city Korion that hosted a temple of goddess Athena) is the only fresh-water lake in Crete, situated at the borders of Chania and Rethymno (47 Km from Chania). The lake is at the foot of the White Mountains, overlooked by Kournas village that lies on the above hill and close to the Venetian architecture village Dimitrouliana Metochi. The lake has a perimeter around 3.5 Km.

Photo by: iStock.com | Nellmac

At the SW side of the lake, there is a nature reserve with a sensitive ecosystem. The lake used to host eels in the past, now hosting mainly small turtle species.

This ecosystem of Kournas Lake Crete, throughout the previous years, has turned the lake into a major tourist attraction, resulting also to an improvement of the surrounding built environment, as most owners of cottages renovated their houses to fir with the view.

Photo by: Iosifina Georgouli, Duck in Kournas lake, Chania, CC BY-SA 4.0

During the tourist season, the visitors can find lots of taverns and restaurants, and can rent pedalos, canoes and sunbeds for fun. This period is also when the perimeter of the lake can be walked. This is not possible during the rain seasons.

Photo by: Alexey Komissarov | Dreamstime.com

One top thing to do in the lake is to stand barefoot in the water on the sandy beach and let the lake’s tiny fish nibble the old skin from your feet.

How to get there | Go to Chania Crete Page