From the port, there is a boat which leaves each morning for the beautiful island of Koufonisi, returning late afternoon. Makry Gialos has a very good suply of shops, tavernas and watersport facilities and attracts visitors of all ages. From Makry Gialos you can visit also Monastery of Kapsa.
The excavations brought to light a minoan villa. In the same region a villa from the Roman period has been excavated.
A few years ago Makry Gialos was a little harbour with a few storehouses. The local people (who in that time used to live in the surrounding villages in and around the mountains) used to store up and then, export their goods, like olive oil, wine, raki, sultanas, carobs beans, corn, and live animals. Around this time, there were only a few families living in the area and a few men, spending the night while they were fishing. There weren’t many roads for transfers, because the land is very mountainous. It wasn’t until after the last war and between the 50s – 70s that the government started building roads. Also, during these years, most of the local population moved to the big cities in Crete, Athens, and other Greek cities. A large number of them also went to Germany and to Australia for work.
Today the resort of Makry Gialos has a population of around 1.000 people.
Surrounding Makry Gialos are several mountain villages steeped in history with narrow winding streets, old and beautifully renovated stone houses encircled by Geraniums, Bougainvillea, and vines. Lemon and Orange trees too numerous to count and of course the occasional goat or donkey being led through the streets.
