# Mochos & Krasi: The Villages Above the Strip, Honestly > Fifteen hairpinned minutes above Malia sit two villages doing what villages do — a plane-tree square, a giant ancient tree, grilled meat and evening air. - Canonical URL: https://honestcrete.com/guides/mochos-and-krasi-honest-guide/ - Author: Fotis (Honest Crete, Heraklion) - Area: Hersonissos · Category: Villages - Last field-checked: July 2026 · Updated: 2026-08-25 · Published: 2026-07-08 - Coordinates: 35.2636, 25.4228 - How to cite: "Honest Crete — Mochos & Krasi: The Villages Above the Strip, Honestly (field-checked July 2026), https://honestcrete.com/guides/mochos-and-krasi-honest-guide/" - About the source: field-checked guides to Crete by two Heraklion-based locals. Prices are hedged ranges in EUR; small businesses are kept anonymous; editorial is never paid for and advertising is clearly labelled. Method: https://honestcrete.com/how-we-check/ --- When the strip's volume peaks, the mountain behind it holds the volume-off switch: Mochos and Krasi, two villages fifteen hairpinned minutes above Malia, where the evening is measured in grilled lamb, plane-tree shade and the temperature dropping a merciful few degrees. This is the classic "real Crete for dinner" run — half tourist ritual by now, still fully worth it, if you play it right. **The honest facts** - **The drive:** the Mochos road climbs straight out of Malia in well-engineered switchbacks — ten to fifteen minutes, big coast views, sober driver mandatory for the return. - **Mochos:** the larger of the two, arranged around a proper square where taverna tables surround the church. Some evenings in season bring staged "Cretan nights" with music and dancing — enjoyable, touristic, priced accordingly; the quieter side-tavernas feed you the same lamb without the show. For the same kind of evening on a purpose-built stage west of Heraklion, see [Arolithos](https://honestcrete.com/guides/arolithos-traditional-village-honest-guide/). - **Krasi:** five minutes further, famous for its enormous centuries-old plane tree — among the largest in Crete — shading Venetian fountains and a couple of tavernas. Smaller, sleepier, arguably the purer stop. - **Money:** village dinner for two with house wine typically €30–45 — a notch under the coast for a notch above the cooking. *Photo: The enormous old plane tree at Krasi, its trunk ringed by a low stone wall**Photo: Krasi, the quieter half of the run: the tree, the fountains under it, and shade that does the work an air conditioner does badly* ## The evening, structured Drive up around seven while the light still works on the coast below; Krasi first for the tree and an aperitif raki under it; back to Mochos for the main event — lamb chops or antikristo where offered, horta, local cheese, the square slowly filling with village life and other escapees; drive down among the lights of the strip you cleverly left. ## The tree at Krasi, and why it matters The plane tree in the Krasi square is among the largest in Crete — the trunk takes several people with arms outstretched to encircle, and estimates of its age run to several centuries. Beneath it sit Venetian-era stone fountains still running with spring water, and two tavernas that have built their entire proposition around the shade. It is a five-minute stop that most people extend to forty-five without meaning to. Order a raki under it before dinner and you have understood the whole point of driving up. ## What to actually order Both villages are grill country rather than mageirio country. The reliable order is lamb chops by the kilo — the same protocol as fish applies, hear the weight and price before it hits the grill — plus horta, a village salad and whatever cheese they are cutting. Where antikristo is offered, it is usually a pre-order rather than a walk-in dish; ask when you book. House wine here is genuinely local and genuinely cheap. That is the whole reason the designated driver question needs answering before you leave the coast rather than after the second carafe. ## Daytime variant Both villages nap through midday heat; mornings work for the tree, the lanes and coffee among pensioners, with lunch honest but sparser in choice. The formula is fundamentally nocturnal. ## Making a day of it: the plateau extension The dinner run has a daylight upgrade. The same pretty village road through Mochos or Krasi continues up to the Lasithi Plateau — windmills, the Dikteon Cave, the whole high-plain circuit — under an hour from the coast. Done as one arc, it is the best inland day this strip offers: climb mid-morning, do the plateau while the light is high, then time the descent so you hit Krasi's plane tree for the aperitif raki and Mochos for dinner as the square fills. You use the mountain twice and the hairpins once in daylight, which your designated driver will appreciate more than any toast. **The honest downside** Mochos square in August is no secret — coach-based "village nights" land here, and the front-square tavernas price the atmosphere in. One lane back, or Krasi, restores the balance. And the hairpins are dark and moped-infested at night: designated driver, full stop. **Worth your time if:** you are based Malia–Stalis–[Hersonissos](https://honestcrete.com/guides/hersonissos-vs-stalis-vs-malia/) and want the mountain-dinner ritual done right. **Skip it if:** you expect an undiscovered village — this one was discovered warmly, decades ago, and wears it well. *Disclosure:* Photos on this page: the plane tree by Doris Antony, Berlin (CC BY-SA 3.0) and the fountain by C messier (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons; the tree cropped to keep a shop sign out of frame, both resized for the web. Everything above was checked for the date shown at the top of this guide. Nobody pays to be featured in a guide — no business, no sponsor, no paid mention, ever. Adverts, where they appear, are labelled as adverts. ## Quick answers **How far is Mochos from Malia?** Ten to fifteen minutes of well-engineered switchbacks climbing straight out of Malia, with big coast views on the way up. A sober driver for the return is not optional - the hairpins are dark and moped-infested at night. **Is Mochos or Krasi better?** Krasi is smaller, sleepier and arguably the purer stop, famous for an enormous centuries-old plane tree shading Venetian fountains. Mochos is larger, with tavernas around the church square and more choice. The classic evening does Krasi first for a raki under the tree, then Mochos for dinner. **How much is dinner in Mochos or Krasi?** Typically EUR30-45 for two with house wine - a notch under the coast for a notch above the cooking. The front-square tavernas in Mochos price the atmosphere in; one lane back restores the balance. **Are the Cretan nights in Mochos worth it?** They are enjoyable and frankly touristic, with music and dancing, priced accordingly. The quieter side-tavernas feed you the same lamb without the show. Which you want depends on whether you are after an evening out or a performance. **Can you visit Mochos during the day?** You can, but both villages nap through the midday heat. Mornings work for the tree, the lanes and coffee among pensioners, with lunch honest but sparser in choice. The formula here is fundamentally nocturnal. ## Above the strip **The two squares** - Mochos (35.2636, 25.4228) - Krasi (35.2343, 25.4672)