Matala is a small seaside village with the most famous beach of southern Crete in the prefecture of Heraklion.
Matala beach was inhabited since antiquity and became famous as a hippie residence in the 1960s and 1970s. The village was formerly a fishing village and today it is mainly inhabited by tourism. It is in the Municipal District of Pitsidia of the Municipality of Timbaki. Its distance from Heraklion is 70.6 km. And each year a festival is held in Matala that lasts for up to three days with well-known and talented artists and thus represents what old Matala was.
The beach has small pebbles, the sea is crystal clear and very cool! Next to the beach, there are some caves where they used to stay in. Enjoy the natural beauty of the beach in the summer by drinking beers and baking steaks on the sandy beach.