Geraniou Cave

The Geraniou cave of the Rethymno prefecture is one of the most beautiful caves on Crete. It is located at the homonymous village in the Kamari region, 6 km west of Rethymno, near the Gerani beach.

The Geraniou cave was discovered accidentally in 1969 when a new highway had been being constructed. The entrance was opened by the explosives used to build the road, while the original entrance, which was blocked by rocks before the end of the Late Neolithic period, was found during the excavations. Because the cave was sealed, the stratigraphy of the Early Neolithic II, the Mid Neolithic and the Late Neolithic periods is preserved in very good condition. The paleontological and archaeological finds are stone tools and tools made from hair, rabbit, pig and goat bones, pottery and bones of countless endemic deer, Candiacervus ropalophorus, who lived on the island during the Pleistocene.

Covering an area of 1.200 square meters, the Geraniou cave has an impressive stalagmite decoration in its six halls. Five halls are successive and separated by large stalactites and stalagmites. The sixth room is parallel to the first towards left, where the natural entrance to the cave was.

At the end of the Geraniou cave, which is not yet open to public, skeletons of three people were found, who apparently were trapped here and suffocated. The cave may have been sporadically used as a residence during the year.