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Walking Crete - In general | Walking - trekking - hiking Crete | |||||||||||||||
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Crete. This island, 260 km long from west to east and varied in width from 60 km to only 12 km is extremely mountainous. Mountains rearing straight up from the sea at the south coast. Deep gorges with dramatic scenery. Harsh but beautiful countrysides. Charming small villages away from modern tourist industry. Leave the beaten track and get to know another Crete. The real Crete as some would say. Mountains. Three mountain ranges stretching longitudinally the island. The Lefka Ori or the 'White Mountains' with some more than 40 peaks over 2.000 metres high occupies a large area of western Crete. The highest peak in this area is Pahnes (2.452 m a.s.l.). The Idi Range in the centre of the island contains the highest peak in Crete, Mount Idi (2.456 m a.s.l.). The Dikte Mountains at the eastern end of the island has several peaks above 2.000 metres high.  Picture: Crete. Mount Gingilos. (2080 m) Gorges. The same geological forces that created the mountain ranges also created some very dramatic gorges throughout the island. The Samaria Gorge is the most famous with a length of 16-18 km, making it the longest gorge in Europe. It is also one of the most impressive and thousands of tourists walk the 6 to 7 hour every year. Some other gorges is the Imbros Gorge, that begins at the plain of Imbros and ends almost at the Libyan Sea beside Chora Sfakion, the Irini Gorge that ends at the Libyan Sea. At the north coast is the less known Prassano Gorge located close to Rethimno.  Picture: Crete. Aradena Gorge near Loutro. Walks For you who may wish to do some walking in Crete, there are walks here for all ages and levels of fitness. These walks I described are from Western Crete but the whole island is criss-crossed by trails, from the time before modern roads was build and some of them used now only by shepherds. It is possible to walk all day not meeting a soul and still reach a village where you can eat and sleep. There are places practically unknown and totally uninhabited, with undisturbed flora and fauna, in deep gorges or high up in the mountains. My Crete is Western Crete on the south coast. Here is all I want. Fantastic nature, lovely climate, friendly people and a laid-back way of living and not too many tourists. I use to stay at the Camping Paleochora 1 km to the east of Paleochora. This is my base for walks either coastal or walks through nearby gorges. The other coastel villages Sougia, Agia Roumeli, Loutro and Chora Sfakion, connected by ferry service, is all worth a visit and offers accomodation.  Picture: Crete. Camping Paleochora. ... continue next row top |
 Picture: Crete. E4 signpost The European Long Distance Trail E4 on Crete reaches from Kissamos in west to Kato Zakros on the eastern edge of the islands. The E4 path forks in Sougia in a northern and a southern part. The northern part is alpine like and requires alpine experience. The southern part on the south coast of the island can be rough at many points and at some positions between Sougia and Chora Sfakion the path may be abandoned. The length of each branch is approximately 320 km and one needs 3 weeks for the complete hike according to CreteTravel.com that has all E4 sections on Crete described. When to go? Spring and autumn. It's too hot in the summer. April and may. The early may is perfect when it comes to walks. Still not too hot and the island is in full bloom. The months of september and october is useable all though the wheather can be changeable.  Picture: Crete. Chania. Old town. Chania is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Prefecture Xanion. The population is approximate 60.000 people in this busy noisy city. The old part though I find very charming with the venetian harbour, the old port, the narrow shopping streets and waterfront restaurants. My favourite restaurant whenever I come to visit Chania is "The Moutoupaki Taverna" located at the old town wall close to the harbour at Porto 60.  Picture: Crete. Moutoupaki Taverna. Chania. I use to stay at the Camping Hania located at the coast about 5 km to the west of the city. The camping is a oasis in a very touristy area. From the bus station in Chania there is daily services by long distance buses to places all over the island. The station it self is worth a study with it's Cretan chaos before departures when passengers, tourists and locals are trying to fin "bus no. 18" announced in the public-address system. But it works anyway and it's a cheap way to get around. Use the Links site to get useful information.
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Crete in brief