The starting point of this tour is Rethymno. We drive on the "New National Road" and then towards Iraklion. At Sfakaki/Stavromenos we change to the "Old National Road" and continue towards Perama. After crossing Perama you pass through a lovely landscape. The road is now lined with olive groves. You drive through several small villages. Overtaking is quite difficult, however. Although the road is in very good condition, it is very narrow and extremely winding. So please concentrate as much as possible when overtaking.
After a while you reach the village of "Drosia". And here there is an attraction: in four or five taverns suckling pig on a spit is offered. People come here from near and far (even from Iraklion and further east and of course from the area around Rethymno) to enjoy the grilled meat. The majority of visitors are local Cretans, as the fact that suckling pig is available in Drosia has not yet spread among tourists. Therefore, the prices are very good for the wallet and completely reasonable. And the food tastes excellent - highly recommended. But be careful: suckling pig is only available on Sundays!
After refreshment, continue to the end of Aloidiana Hani. Turn left here (sign on the left side of the road: Aloides 2 km). The route goes uphill through olive groves and vineyards past the rather unspectacular mountain village of Aloides until, at the top of the pass, the view opens up to the Cretan Aegean and the north coast. From here, the serpentine road is very well developed and leads to the town of Sisses. At the town, turn left towards Rethymno on the "New National Road". Shortly after Sisses, there were makeshift stalls for about a kilometer where farmers were selling fresh fruit (mainly oranges). These stalls were closed by the police in 2016 because there had been repeated fatal accidents or accidents with serious injuries.
A little later, you can visit the small town of Bali, which is about 2 km from the "New National Road". The exit is signposted. There were also temporary stands near Panormo, which were also closed by the police in 2016. The exit to Panormo is marked accordingly.
To return to Rethymno, take the “New National Road” or from Sfakaki/Stavromenos take the “Old National Road” along the coast and the tourist areas of Rethymno to the starting point.
