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Horses
We have 1 Arabic horse, 1 Berber, 2 Thoroughbreds, 4
Dutch warm bloods, 4 Greek warm bloods, 1
Jorkalidiko (Cretan Horse) and for the guide 1
Hanoveran. For the children we have 2 Welsh ponies
We ride on warm blood horses and thoroughbreds as
they have a long breath and a never tiring will for
long distance riding. Training them especially for
the mountain work makes that we have a challenging
travel companion for you. Full of strength and
courage. But in the same time be surprised how cool
in the head and safe our horses are.
Especially for the novice rider we use reliable and
easy horses, to give them the trust and safety that
he or she needs.
But for all our horses’ counts that they are
friendly, well cared for, good fed, well trained and
all have an excellent condition for the long
distance riding.
The barn facilities include:
- 14 stalls with connected turnout paddocks giving
the horses themselves the choice to go inside or
outside.
- Outdoor arena, 42 x 20 meters with an all-weather
proof floor a
- Outdoor arena, 15 x 12 meters, for lunging.
- Tack room
- Pasture
- An indoor horse shower
- Bathroom/changing-room and toilets for the guests
Equestrian
Country Hotel Velani ****
The moment you arrive on the hillside you
experience the serene quietness and the
tremendous panoramic view. Under us stretches
the Langada Valley with the Apposelemis River
crossing through above us rise the red coloured
peaks of the Dikti Mountains. Birds of prey,
like the Griffon Vulture, glide along these
peaks. The estate is surrounded by protected
Kerm Oak forest and olive groves stretching down
to the valley. On the estate many protected
trees and flowers can be found, like different
type of beautiful orchids. The Hotel suits its
surrounding as it is built with real natural
stones collected from the land it stands on,
giving it a robust and natural look. The hotel
has a neo-classic style creating a romantic
atmosphere for long summer nights.
The main building houses the reception, and a
cafe with a large balcony on witch you can drink
your Greek coffee or Rakí. In the main building
you also find Restaurant Veláni with its large
terrace overlooking the riding place and the
valley. The restaurant serves the Cretan diet
which is famous for being healthy and the use of
olive oil. The olive oil is our own produce by
the olive grove of the estate. The 12 hotel
rooms are grouped into 2 bungalows each housing
6 rooms. The bungalows lay quietly separate from
the main activities. The rooms are large and
comfortable and all have a tremendous view over
the valley. Each room has a large bathroom with
bathtub. The rooms have (NO air-conditioning),
heating, a large glass door of 2 meter and a
private balcony or terrace.
Next to the main building lays the naturally
formed large swimming pool 100 m2 with a
separate children’s pool of 11m2.
Other activities in the hotel are Paragliding,
hiking, caving and mountain climbing. It
is possible to rent mountain bikes. A 18 hole
golf course is located at 7 km. The traditional
Greek village of Avdou lies at 1 km distance.
The village has 250 inhabitants. Here time has
stand still. The wide sandy beach of Anissaras
lies at 15 km distance. The airport lies at 40
km distance.
General Information About Crete
Crete, the island of surprises and contrasts. High mountains and deep gorges, archaeological sites alongside traditional villages where life continues in a relaxed and friendly way, clear blue seas bordered by golden sandy beaches. Zeus, the king of Greek gods, was born in a cave on Mount idi, the highest mountain. He represented hospitality and his spirit lives on today in the hearts of all Cretan people.
Georgaphy
Crete is the largest Greek island. It covers
8,336 sq m with 1.100 kms of coastline. It is
considered as one of the most prosperous areas
in Greece. Its development has been favored by
its geographical location, climate, diverse
natural beauty as well as its unique cultural
and historical treasures. Crete is renowned for
its breath-taking mountain ranges and long sandy
beaches running down to emerald-blue seas. This
particular geography allow the existence of a
large number of rare flora and fauna species,
such as the sea lily along the coastal zones,
sea turtles caretta caretta in Rethynnon and
Eleonoras Falcon falcon Eleonore in Lassithi. In
the valleys and semimountainous areas, one can
find more than 100 different varieties of
flowers and plants, while in the high mountains
and deep Cretan gorges the visitor may encounter
interesting flora and fauna including the wild
goat kri kri, which is found only in Crete.
Climate
Crete enjoys perhaps one of the best
subtropical Mediterranean climates with over 300
days and more than 3,000 hours of sunshine each
year. The light rainy season is normally
confined to the period between November and
March. Mild temperatures prevail year round.
Population
The population of
Crete currently is approximately 600.000 people.
The majority of inhabitants live in the four
main towns of the island, Hania, Rethymnon,
Agios Nikolaos and Heraklion, the capital. The
remainder of the population is spread in smaller
towns and scattered fishing and mountain
villages.
Main Religion : Greek Orthodox
Language : Greek is the official language, but
English and German are widely spoken.
