Ano Vouves

The village of Ano Vouves, located 30 km from the city of Chania, is a benchmark both for locals and visitors, as the oldest olive tree in the world exists there, according to the international scientific community.

The Olive Tree of Vouves is widely known and visited by thousands of tourists every year. The tree is over 3,000 years old. The perimeter of the tree trunk is 12.5 meters, the diameter is 4.6 meters and it belongs to the local variety of olive trees, called “tsounati”. The tree is grafted onto a wild olive tree.

Because of that, something that the residents did in the past – the tree trunk appears to be carved, like a natural sculpture. In 1990, the olive tree of Ano Vouves was proclaimed as a Monument of Exceptional Importance of Nature.

Next to the this particular olive tree, there is another impressive ancient olive tree. Three different varieties grow in it: the “Kalamatianou”, the “tsounati” and the “Koroneiki”. All these varieties are grafted onto wild olive tree.

At Ano Vouves, operates the Olive Tree Museum of the village, which hosts artifacts from the tools of traditional olive tree harvesting in Crete.

An old cobbled street of the village leads to another monumental tree of Ano Vouves, located near an old fountain with ancient inscriptions near the Byzantine church of the Life Giving Spring.