Sarchos Cave
Sarchos Cave (also known as Chonos or Bat Cave) is located west of the village of Sarchos, which is 22 km from Heraklion, at the base of Psiloritis. At an altitude of 276 meters, the cave has a total length of 2 kilometres and a depth of 225 meters. It is one of the largest and most important caves in Crete. The characteristic of the cave is the alternation of rooms and spacious corridors and galleries. The cave is also called Chonos, as, basically, it is a sinkhole that drains running water from the chasms located at Krousaniotiko Livadi and Vromonero. The decoration of the cave is limited and in a phase of disintegration, with the main elements being stalagmites, stalactites, unique stones and a few corals. It is also home to three important species of bats in Crete.
During the Revolution of 1866-1869, in the cave of Sarhos (in the bed of an old underground river), the women and children of the homonymous village found refuge and managed to be saved. Zacharias Filippakis (who came from Sarchos), along with fifty men, was the guard at the cave entrance. Filippakis, in the summer of 1866, successfully resisted the Turkish attacks to the extent that the Turks were forced to capitulate and end the siege.