The Neolithic Hippie Caves of Matala

Out of Town Blog
The Neolithic Hippie Caves of Matala

What do Neolithic inhabitants and 1960s hippies share? In the sunny coastal town of Matala, in southern Crete, these 2 not likely groups share a surprising connection within a widely known traveler area.

aligncenter “>< img loading =" lazy "class =" size-medium wp-image-161940" src =" https://outoftownblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/The-Neolithic-Hippie-Caves-of-Matala--700x933.jpg" alt=" The Neolithic Hippie Caves of Matala "width =" 700" height =" 933"/ > The Neolithic Hippie Caves of Matala This is the story of

the Matala Caves and their journey from being strange ancient tombs, to their renewal as a bohemian enclave, to today being a traveler draw. The coastal town of Matala is located approximately 70km south of Iraklion, the dynamic capital of Crete. For half the year, it becomes almost a ghost town, with its long-term locals numbering only around 300, a figure some think about exaggerated, as they are frequently outnumbered by the lots of cats wandering through its deserted streets.

height=” 525″/ > Red marks inside Matala Caves As warmer weather returns and April marks the start of the traveler season, Matala comes alive. Music drifts from bars, dining establishments extend onto the streets, and the beach is filled with lounge chairs, making Matala among Crete’s most popular tourist spots.

There’s more than something that brings in travelers to Matala each year, such as the stunning landscapes around the Red Beach or the neighboring Minoan ruins of Phaistos and Agia Triada, however among the most remarkable of them are the Matala Caves, which dot the northern cliff face of Matala Bay.

These ancient, man-made caves are carved into the sandstone cliff on the edge of town, some increasing as high as 30 metres above the beach listed below.

lazy” class=” size-medium wp-image-161943″ src=” https://outoftownblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/The-caves-of-Matala-700×525.jpg “alt=” The caves of Matala” width=” 700″ height =” 525″/ > The caves of Matala< figure id =" attachment_161944 "aria-describedby =" caption-attachment-161944" class=" wp-caption aligncenter ">< img loading=" lazy" class =" size-medium wp-image-161944" src=" https://outoftownblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/One-of-the-chambers-of-the-caves-of-Matala-700x933.jpg "alt =" Among the chambers of the caverns of Matala" width =" 700" height= "933 "/ > One of the chambers of the caverns of Matala Their origins remain a secret, on account of their age leaving little for archeologists to analyze. While nobody is rather sure how old they are, primitive tool marks and ancient pottery indicate that the caves are several thousand years of ages, dating back to the Neolithic era (which for Crete implies in between 9000 to 7000 BCE ). Similarly strange is their purpose.

There are 2 prevailing theories regarding what the caverns were used for, that they were either homes or tombs; homes for the living or homes for the dead. However after taking one step inside any of the caverns it becomes clear that the latter theory is the more appealing. Even inside the biggest of the Matala Caves an ordinary-sized adult can’t stand upright, and a number of the smaller sized caverns need one to crawl on their hands and knees to navigate.

=” caption-attachment-161947″ class =” wp-caption aligncenter “>< img loading= "lazy" class =" size-medium wp-image-161947" src=" https://outoftownblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Grottes-de-Matala--700x933.jpg" alt=" Grottes de Matala" width=" 700" height=" 933"/ > Grottes de Matala So, more likely, the caves were tombs, and this is exactly what the Romans would later use them for, causing some archeologists to theorise that they might in reality have been Roman the whole time.

Regardless, the dominating theory is that the Matala Caves are of Neolithic-origin. While they might have been too little to be developed as homes, this is precisely what the Matala Caves would be utilized for– numerous thousand years later.

Come the 1960s and the so-called ‘hippie’ countercultural motion was in full speed. All over the western world, youths rejected the mainstream in favour of more bohemian perfects, such as peace, artistic expression, and spiritual exploration.

The ‘hippie path’ brought in adventurous young people from across North America and Europe to start an overland journey of self discovery and spirituality, taking them from the modernity of Europe, across the Middle East, to generally discovering their destination in India and Nepal.

” wp-caption aligncenter “>< img loading =" lazy" class=" size-medium wp-image-161948" src =" https://outoftownblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Inside-Grottes-de-Matala--700x525.jpg" alt="Inside Grottes de Matala" width=" 700 "height=" 525 "/ > Inside Grottes de Matala Along this route, the peaceful Cretan fishing village of Matala would become an essential stop and, for some, the destination. What began as a little colony of French artists in the early 1960s would soon become a flourishing bohemian enclave of hippies, musicians and all way of folk from across the world.

In their desire to turn down modernity, this community took up residence not in the town itself, but in the cramped and dirty caves simply outside it. While when used to house the dead, the caves became home to a dynamic neighborhood.

The Matala hippie commune lasted for years, and at its peak boasted a neighborhood of over 200 people from all over the world and all walks of life. From your stereotypical ‘hippie’ characters, to AWOL military runaways leaving the Vietnam draft, to political refugees– the Matala Caves invited all.

Among them consisted of some that would later become home names, such as singer-songwriters Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell, the latter of whom mentioned the caves in her 1971 hit ‘Carey’.

By the late 70s the Matala Caves were home to a growing community that, in the words of former cave-dweller Evelyn von Almassy, would invest their time “visiting neighbours, cleaning or embellishing their caverns, making music or preparing the night meal.”

” wp-caption aligncenter” >< img loading =" lazy "class=" size-medium wp-image-161949 "src=" https://outoftownblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Matala-Caves-a-former-hippie-paradise-700x525.jpg "alt =" Matala Caves, a previous hippie paradise" width=" 700" height=" 525"/ > Matala Caves, a previous hippie paradise Evelyn remembers mornings spent at the beach, and common meals in the big cave followed by music and shared hash. There was no electrical energy, simply a single generator, which was utilized to power a projector and watch motion pictures on a sheet strung in between trees.

To the cave-dwellers, the community they had actually developed was something unique. Each was running from something, and discovered significance in these caves. However it would soon come to an end.

Throughout the world, the countercultural motion would inevitably come into conflict with existing institutions and ideologies. For the Matala Cave neighborhood, this would can be found in the type of the Greek Orthodox Church and the so-called Regime of the Colonels, the military junta that took power in 1967.

Regardless of the neighborhood’s claims that they were just interested in “simple living, austere consuming and philosophising”, the Greek federal government, and some members of the Matala township, saw the cave-dwelling neighborhood as an affront to decency, and a corrupting impact on kids. An authoritarian and highly anti-communist federal government, the Routine’s values contravened the free-loving, anti-establishment beliefs of the Matala community.