Voulisma Beach - Agios Nikolaos

SUSTAINABILITY Beach Rating

The beach

Voulisma is the second of the three bays of Istron village. Istron village is close to Kalo Chorio and is about 12 km east of Agios Nikolaos and 22 km north of Ierapetra. Approximately 500 meters east of Kalo Chorio is located Voulisma beach or Golden Beach. Its length is about 700 meters and is the largest beach of Kalo Chorio.

Voulisma beach has white clean sand and deep turquoise waters. Sea is quite shallow, suitable for leisure, beach and water games, as the water is pleasantly warm. It is organized, but it’s characterized by mild interference.

It is easily accessible, as it is located on the main road, which it has also parking space. In the surrounding area of the beach there are no industries. The whole area near Voulisma Beach is accordingly considered as tourist resort with a lot of hotels and apartments.

Questionnaire

map

BEACH FACILITIES

Organized

sANDY

WC

Parking

Lifeguard

Shower

Accessibility

WIFI

Canteen

Blue Flag

BEACH PHOTO GALLERY

BEACH INFORMATION

Municipality of Agios Nikolaos

The Municipality of Agios Nikolaos is one of the most beautiful municipalities of the Region of Crete and is the capital of Lasithi Prefecture. The extent of the municipality is 511.99 m². Part of the municipality of Agios Nikolaos are the communities of Kritsa, Elounda, Limnes, Kalo Chorio, Vrouchas, Skinias, Louma, Zenia, Exo Potamion, Kroustas, Exo Lakonia, Mesa Lakonia, Prina, Neapolis and Vrahassi. Capital of the new Municipality of Agios Nikolaos is the city of Agios Nikolaos while the historic capital of the Municipality is Neapolis.

In ancient years the city of “Lato pros Kamara” flourished, which was situated upon the current town of Agios Nikolaos. It was placed on the hill between the lake and the marina, but only a few findings have survived from this ancient city. The city “Lato pros Kamara” was the port of the major Dorian city Lato (Lato or Etera) near Kritsa village (10 km. South of Agios Nikolaos).

In 1206 Henry Pescatore, a Genovese pirate, built a fortress on the top of the hill, where the building of Prefecture stands today. The fortress was named Mirabello, due to the unique view to the entire bay. This fortress should have been really impressive, as the whole Province of Agios Nikolaos received the name Mirabello. Inside the fortress, there was a salt warehouse, where was carefully stored the valuable product from the salt marshes of Elounda.

Agios Nikolaos is not an old name and the name of the city comes from the name of the nave church with a dome at the small Ammoudi peninsula, across from the coastal road.

In the 1960s Agios Nikolaos became the first tourism destination in Crete, earlier than the other areas of Crete, and the first major hotel had shortly opened in 1965. Still today Agios Nikolaos receives thousands of tourists every summer, as well as Elounda and Plaka in the north and Istro and Kalo Chorio in the south of Municipality.

The rest of the villages that are located in the hills and the mountains around Agios Nikolaos remain virtually untouched by tourism and they can offer to the visitors the opportunity to get a picture of real life in Crete.

The Mirabello fortress faced several disasters, an earthquake in 1303 and a pirate capture in 1537, but it was always rebuilt. The final destruction of it was in the 17th AD century, when the Ottomans besieged it and conquered it after betrayal.

The early years of the Turkish conquest, Mirabello continued to be inhabited and was also the seat of the Province, but gradually it was deserted and there are a lot of reports of the complete abandonment of the city, but the port was still continued to be used for the exportation of the local products, mostly the locust. It is reported that the products were primarily collected in open areas, even within the four churches of Agios Nikolaos that were existed in that time, because there weren’t any warehouses.

At the end of the Ottoman rule and right after the Greek revolution of 1866, Agios Nikolaos inhabited again. The residents of Kritsa, some villagers from Sfakia and those who had engaged in shipping in eastern Crete, settled in the dilapidated village of Mandraki, which in the latest years developed into today’s city of Agios Nikolaos.

The current city of Agios Nikolaos is built on the ancient Lato Kamara. From that time of period several statues, inscriptions and many tombs in the river region have been found. The offerings of the tombs, many of which are really interesting, exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of the city.

The monument of Spinalonga (fortified island) presents particular interest, which was used as a leper colony in the past. Particular interest also presents the cornucopia, a sculpture that had been made by the local artist’s brothers Sotiriadi and it was erected in a stone terrace by the sea. Moreover, in Elounda are located integers the well-known windmills. In Elounda’s “Channel” are saved three circle windmills, so their type is “round” or “xetrocharis”. The windmill was built in the early century.

Characteristics of the beach

The beach is located on a fertile valley, with abundant water, lush citrus, vines, olive trees and big agricultural areas, while close to the beach is a major dense pine forest.

Close to Voulisma Beach there are unexplored archaeological sites, such as in the “Varykastro”, etc.

There are a lot of legends and traditions for the region. One of those is that in the end of the village, there is a fountain which is flowing running water throughout the year. Suddenly, one day it was dried up. The residents, which were very devout, were yielded this phenomenon to a neighbor’s related dream that he had seen about the unjustified delay of the ruined church of Metamorfosis (Transfiguration) reconstruction. So, they were started the renovation of the church again and it was completed almost instantly. Right after that, the villagers called the Bishop of Petra Meletios Chlapoutakis (1855-1889), to inaugurate the chapel. Miraculously, when he sanctified the tap spout, it started running again, just like before and it is flowing till today.

The distance of the beach:

From International Airport Nikos Kazantzakis of Heraklion is about 70,4 Km.

From the center of Agios Nikolaos City is about 12 Km.

From the Archaeological Museum of Agios Nikolaos is about 13 Km.

From the traditional village Kalo Chorio is about 500 m.

Beach Regulation

General matters:

The opening hours of the beach are from 10:30 to 17:30.

If you have any questions ask the beach staff

For any complaints complete the special form at the entrance

To help us increase the quality of the services provided please complete the relevant questionnaire which you can find at the reception or in our website www.costanostrum.org or by downloading the relevant application Costa Nostrum.

The ashtrays, the beach chairs and the umbrellas are property of the Managing Authority of Voulsima Beach.

Only the guests – owners of valuable objects that may be lost, are responsible for the loss.

Hygiene and Safety, Environmental Protection and Cleanliness of the Beach

You should always follow the advice of the lifeguards.

Swim parallel to the coastline and if possible never alone.

It is prohibited to block the lifeguard’s corridor and the range of vision of the lifeguard.

The consumption of alcohol or drugs is prohibited.

It is prohibited to throw cigarettes into the sea or on the beach.

It is prohibited to throw glass objects or packaging on the beach or into the sea.

It is prohibited to throw any object on the beach or into the sea.

It is prohibited to light a fire.

It is prohibited to use shampoo at the showers.

It is prohibited to use music devices that produce loud noise.

All your rubbish should be placed with your own responsibility into the special waste containers.

It is prohibited to destroy any kind of vegetation.

It is prohibited to walk in areas where swimmers are not allowed to enter, according to the existing prohibition signs.

It is prohibited to stay on the lifeguard’s tower without a relevant permission.

The beach staff has the right to remove from the beach persons who are in a drunken condition or under the influence of drugs or behave violently/improperly to other visitors.

It is prohibited to take sand.

Emergency cases:

In case of a person disappearance, you should immediately contact the beach manager.

In case of a beach closure, please follow the instructions of the manager and lifeguards.

In case of an accident, you should immediately inform the lifeguard and the beach manager.

If a customer falls sick due to any possible cause, they are to immediately notify the beach manager, in order for all necessary measures to be taken.

Marine:

“Voulisma” or Golden Sands is a characterized white sandy beach. The southern part of the beach consists of sandy embankments and it is accessed on foot. The submarine environment has also white sand, which is giving to the sea a unique exotic blue color. The beach is well organized and it is suitable for families with children.

The underwater landscape consists mainly of a sandy bottom, in which the swimmer, using a mask – snorkel and swimming footings, could observe shoal of fishes to forage on the bottom of the sea, small shells to emerge from the sand and the underwater landscape that they are traveling. In the western part of the beach, there is particular local biodiversity interest on the rock formations.

In this place, the visitors could see colonies of sea anemones, colorful fishes such as the Mediterranean rainbow wrasse, the cardinal fish, the rocky fish, the salema porgy, the white seabream, the annular seabream, the gobies seeking for food and sponges with different colors and shapes to grow attached on the rocks. On the rock surface are developing formations of microalgae, different colors, shapes and sizes algae. On the no – microalgae’s rocks, the visitor could see black and red sea urchins, limpets and small shells. If the swimmer stands lucky, he could see small colonies of flathead grey mullet or the european seabass larking.

Land:

The land part of the beach is characterized by native tamarisk and typical Mediterranean vegetation, nesting and circulating several bird species. In the afternoon on the beach emerge from their hideouts small insects – Coleoptera (beetles) – seeking for their food and the hot sun isn’t standing an obstacle. In the slopes the visitor will see small green lizards seeking for food and warming up under the sun as they are ektotherma animals – the temperature is regulated with the help of the sun.

Calculation of carrying capacity of a Beach

For the term “carrying capacity” there is a large number of definitions in international literature. However, all these definitions involve two central opinions: Firstly, the biophysical element related to the maintenance of the integrity of the natural resource, in this case, the beach. So, there is a maximum limit which must not be exceeded or else the natural ecosystem will suffer strong pressures. And, secondly, behavioral element which reflects the ability of the leisure experience.

Although until today there has not been a widely accepted definition or a commonly accepted procedure for the calculation of the load-bearing capacity of the beach, the calculation of the load-bearing capacity of each beach is done with the combination of different procedures found in international literature, the main goal being the best protection and conservation of the natural resource and the environment.

For the calculation of the load-bearing capacity of this beach, the following data – information were considered;

Calculation practices of the load-bearing capacity of the beach, mentioned in international literature.

Legislation in force.

Geographical position of the beach.

Existence of endangered species inside the coastal zone.

Fauna and Flora of the area.

Environmental stress of the beach.

The best service of the guests – swimmers of the beach.

The protection of the environment and the preservation of the natural resources of the beach.

Existence of protection rules for the safety and easy access of the guests to the beach.

Existence of stable infrastructures and the prospect of placing new infrastructures like WC.

The total covered area of the beach is about 1993,95 m².

Based on the calculation of the carrying capacity of this particular beach, according to the state of art, the carrying capacity is about 415 swimmers.

The number of umbrellas that the hotel gives to its guests is 140 umbrellas, that is, 280 beach chairs which corresponds to 280 swimmers. This number is much smaller than the capacity of the beach.

Sustainable Waste Management

The main goal of the suggested management plan aims at the optimal sustainable management of the waste produced by visitors of the beach during their stay in the coastal zone.

The administrators of each beach must place appropriate bin for recycling where possible and to cover the needs of the beach at the same time.

It is suggested that in every beach – whether it is organized or not and taking into account the number of visitors – there are at least blue bins for the recycling of packaging , brown bins (compost bins) for the recycling of organic waste and green bins for mixed waste.

An important issue that the administrators have to deal with, whether they are public or private, is the collection of the cigarette ends which are thrown by the swimmers on the beach. It is suggested that there are ashtrays next to each chair which will be cleaned by the beach staff, after the guests leave the beach. This waste should not be thrown in the bin with the mixed rubbish because they can cause fire. They should be put in a special metal bucket, soaked with water and then thrown into the common bins, as no management plan for this kind of waste has been found until now.

At the point where the bins are placed there should be explanatory signs in more languages and the waste should be carried to the recycling centers regularly.

Moreover is should be mentioned that the seaweeds washed out at the beach are not beautiful but there is a processing method by a Greek company producing compost from seaweeds, http://www.compost.gr/#!unique-method-gr/co9t .

In general, it is suggested the following bins are placed:

At least 1 Green bin for mixed rubbish

At least 1 Blue bin for recyclable package materials

At least 1 Brown bin for organic waste

At least 1 Metal bucket for cigarettes from the ashtrays placed under the umbrellas

Clay ashtray at each beach chair set.

1 butterfly net so that the staff can collect rubbish from the beach without bending.

One-use gloves in case the worker has to collect rubbish with the hands.

All the bins should always be closed and the administrator of the beach is responsible to make sure the bins are closed.

Any other waste like batteries, electrical and electronic equipment should be given at the reception and the administrator of the beach has the responsibility to put them in the right bin, or inform the guest where the nearest container is.

In any case no rubbish should be thrown into the wrong container and of course nothing should be thrown into the beach or the sea.

Measures for the Protection of Endangered Species

At the beach of Voulisma no existence of endangered species has been mentioned. In any case, if endangered species appear, then measures for their protection have to be taken.

For example, some measures are mentioned below but in any case if you find an endangered species you should immediately contact the competent authorities of the state.

If you find a nest

If the nest is in danger beacause of the pedestrians or the vehicles, surround it with a “fence” you can make from wooden sticks placed around it and tied with some rope.
CAREFUL: Do not dig the nest. If there are stones or other things that may prevent the baby turtles from finding their way to the sea, then remove those obstacles.
If it is in the shade (e.g. under an umbrella), try to remove it.

If you find an injured turtle

You put the turtle in a SAFE PLACE away from people and noise. YOU ALWAYS RAISE IT FROM THE SHELL (never from the wings or the head).
If the animal is big it must be carried by 2 persons by catching the shell from behind the neck and over the tail.
YOU PLACE THE ANIMAL CAREFULLY making sure the wings do not remain under its body.

We put the animal in a place which is PROTECTED AND QUIET, AWAY FROM STREAMS AND WIND. In the summer months you should cover the would with a piece of WET CLOTH. The temperature of the place should not fall under 15 degrees Celcius. The turtle does not have to be put in sea water and if it is wounded at the head or exhausted, it MUST NOT BE PUT IN WATER BECAUSE IT MY DROWN.

If it is trapped in nets or fishing hook, you remove them carefully. In no circumstances should you TRY TO PULL A HOOK FROM THE MOUTH OR TAIL.

You control all wings and if you find RECOGNITION TAGS call the Rescue Network (210 8944444). You will be sent a special form which you have to COMPLETE carefully to help the turtle you found and also other turtles.

If you find a dead sea turtle

If the turtle is dead it should be CARRIED TO THE LAND and the Coast Guard as well as Archelon should be contacted. BE CAREFUL, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE TURTLES LOOKS DEAD BUT IT MAY BE IN DEEP SLEEP, ESPECIALLY IN THE COLD MONTHS.

YOU SHOULD CALL THE OFFICIAL VETERINARIAN AND IF THERE IS NOT ONE, YOU CALL ANOTHER VETERIANARIAN OR THE COAST GUARD. .
If you find a tag it should be removed and sent to ARCHELON.
ATTENTION, THIS IS ONLY FOR DEAD ANIMALS. It would be very helpful for ARCHELON if you take a photograph of the animal and especially its wounds.

Complete the special FORM sent to you by ARCHELON AND finally call the LOCAL AUTHORITIES for the burial of the animal.

For more information http://www.archelon.gr/ .