Located on the southwesternmost end of Chania on the island of Crete in Greece, Elafonissi Beach is a long and wide pink sand beach with many rocky portions and a sandbar. The beach is recognized as one of the world’s top beaches for its unparalleled natural beauty and unique pink sand. The sand gets its color from crushed shells and coral fragments mixed with the white sand. The beach is positioned along the Libyan Sea and has a beautiful backdrop of rocky outcrops, dunes, and coastal vegetation, including sea daffodils and juniper trees. The beach is part of a mile-long Elafonisi Island, which is separated from the southwest coast of Crete by a shallow, warm lagoon, namely, Balos Lagoon. During high tide, the sandbar connecting the island is submerged under about one meter of water.
Elafonissi Beach is home to the remnants of the Austrian ship "Imperatrix," which sank in February 1907. The ship was caught in a fierce storm and was wrecked on the rocks near the small islet of Elafonissi. The tragedy claimed several lives, and a large wooden cross now stands on the islet in their memory. Later, a 23-meter-high lighthouse was constructed on the islet to prevent future shipwrecks, but it was destroyed by German troops during World War II. At the far end of the beach, ruins can still be found near a small chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, which adds to the historical and cultural aspects of the island.
