Preveli is one of the most famous beaches in Crete, whose name is taken from the historical monastery (“Monestary of Ayious Ioannis Theologos Preveli”) nearby. The Kourtaliotis river (“Great River” or “Megalosaurus Potamos”) flows through the imposing Kourtaliotiko Gorge and ends up in the sea right in the center of the beach.
The area of Preveli is quite famous for the largest palm tree forest on the island, which covers some ten acres. The landscape with the beach, the gorge, the Theophrastus palms and the river is characterized as one of the most beautiful in Europe. It is thought that the trees probably grew in the area with the help of migrating birds on their way back from Europe to Africa.
Preveli is a protected area of natural beauty for the unique species or flora and fauna. In 2010 , a big fire on a very windy day burnt almost all of the palm trees along the river.However, since the palms are slow-burners, the quickly passing fire did not have enough time to completely destroy the trees. It only took just over a year for the forest to come back to its natural beauty. Here and there you can still notice under the shade of the palm trees how the trunks of the trees are black.
