Matala is located 68 km southwest of Heraklion on the boarders of the plain Messara and the Asterousia mountains. Matala is famous mostly because of the hippies that used to live there during the ‘70s in the man-made caves varved out of the rock thousands of years ago.

The feeling of freedom, the amazing beach and the magic scenery was very appealing to the hippies from all over the world. All these things are the reasons that many people still visit Matala every summer. There are many traditional taverns and bars around the area that you need to visit. Every summer the local municipality organizes the famous Matala Beach Festival that attracts visitors from all over the world.