Photo: fs · CC BY-SA 3.0
Lake Voulismeni is a small, round lake in the centre of the town of Agios Nikolaos on Crete. It was once a freshwater lake and is now joined to the town’s harbour by a shallow channel about 60 m long, dug by the French army. Locals simply call it the Lake. According to legend the goddess Athena bathed in it, and every year at midnight at the start of Orthodox Easter most of the town gathers around it for fireworks. A small park above the lake offers a panoramic view.
How it formed
The lake is a karst sinkhole about 137 m across and about 48 m deep, very deep for its width. Its name means “sunken”, and it was long said to be bottomless. Fresh water rises from the bottom, so the salt content falls with depth, and on the west side a steep cliff of about 20 m rises from the water.
History
It has also been called Vromolimni, the “stinking lake”. Columns from the ancient town of Lato pros Kamara were set around its shore. The Germans are said to have thrown weapons and equipment into it before they left Crete in 1944.
Gallery
Visit
Getting there
Nearest settlement: Agios Nikolaos
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
Bars and restaurants ring the lake, and an evening drink by the water is the classic thing to do, as the lights of the small fishing boats reflect on it. A walk around the lake is pleasant, and the park above has the best view. The west cliff has hosted cliff-diving contests.
Swimming is not recommended, since hydrocarbons from boat fuel and nitrogen and phosphate compounds make the water quality poor. For a swim, Kitroplatia and Almyros beaches are a short way off, and the town’s archaeological and folklore museums are also close by.
Nearby lakes
Show on map
Photo: Maverickn2 · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Sources & data
- OpenStreetMap: Λίμνη Βουλισμένη (way 26826759), OpenStreetMap contributors
- English Wikipedia: Lake Voulismeni, Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata: Lake Voulismeni (Q686328), Wikimedia Foundation
- The idyllic lake in the heart of Agios Nikolaos, Visit Greece
- Lake Voulismeni, Agios Nikolaos, Cretan Beaches
- Lake Voulismeni, Agios Nikolaos, All Over Greece