Chora Sfakion Χώρα Σφακίων | |
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  Chora Sfakion | |
| Coordinates:35°12′03″N24°08′14″E / 35.20083°N 24.13722°E /35.20083; 24.13722 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Crete |
| Regional unit | Chania |
| Municipality | Sfakia |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Community | 322 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Hóra Sfakíon (Greek:Χώρα Σφακίων) or simplySfakia (Σφακιά[sfaˈca]) is a small town on the south coast ofCrete,Greece. It is the capital of the remote and mountainous region ofSfakiá, and has just 322 inhabitants (according to the 2021 census).[1] It lies on the south coast near the end of theImbros Gorge, 74 km south ofChania. It has two small harbours, where the ferry boats fromAgia Roumeli dock, which in the summer bring the hikers from theSamaria Gorge to ride buses back to the northern coast. From Hóra Sfakíon, ferries also sail to the nearby coastal village ofLoutro andGavdos island.
Hóra Sfakíon is a small village with a main harbourfront of tavernas, two minimarkets, a butcher shop, and a bakery. There is a quiet local beach next to the west side of the village, and several pebbly beaches nearby. Hóra Sfakíon has a variety of tourist accommodations: rooms, studios, and apartments. The local economy is based on tourism, fishing, olive oil production, and sheep and goat herding.
Hóra Sfakíon prospered during theVenetian andOttoman occupations and up to the 18th century carried on a flourishing trade with its own small fleet. It was said to have had a hundred churches, but it suffered badly from wartime bombardment during theBattle of Crete and the Allied naval evacuation that followed.
Hóra Sfakíon is renown as one of the centers of resistance against the occupying forces of both theVenetians and theOttomans. The impenetrableWhite Mountains to the north combined with the rocky beaches on the south helped the locals fight off all invaders. Anopolis, a village near Hóra Sfakíon, is the birthplace ofDaskalogiannis, one of the most celebrated Cretan revolutionaries.
