Hiking at Samaria Gorge from Heraklion!
TYPE
ΑΝΑΧΩΡΗΣΗ
Every Tuesday and Thursday | Available from June till October
Duration 15 hours / Stay in Samaria 6-7 hours and 16 km of hiking / Stay on boat 1 hour
An experience not to be missed!
Come with us to explore Samaria Gorge. This excursion is one of the longest but also one of the most beautiful.
Our adventure starts very early in the morning and our first stop is in Skaleta for breakfast.Then we move to Omalos Plateau. There the walk starts from Xiloskalo, where we enter this vast canyon of 16 km.
We usually need 6-7 hours to cross the gorge. The path follows the route of the ancient river Taras. On the way, we can see the caves that formed a natural shelter for the Cretans in war times and now they are natural habitat of the well-known wild goats or kri-kri. Halfway we come across the village of Santa Maria, which is currently abandoned. Three kilometers prior to our exiting this gorge, we reach the Iron Gates (Sideroportes), the narrowest spot of the route, just a few meters wide but 300 meters high.
A bit later we arrive in the small fishing village of Agia Roumeli, where we have quite a long time to lunch and to get a refreshing swim before boarding the slip that leads us back along the coast to Sfakia. There our coaches wait us to get us back to hotels.
Indicative Time-Table:
07:00 Stop in Skaleta for breakfast
07:20 Departure from Skaleta
10:00 Omalos Plateau, 15 min. preparation and beginning of hiking
10:30 Gorge Entrance
17:45 Boat’s departure from Agia Roumeli to Sfakia
18:45 Arrival at Sfakia and boarding on coaches
20:30 Stop in Skaleta for snack
21:30 Arrival at Heraklion
The timing of the program will be approximate, depending on traffic and weather conditions
- Drink plenty of water (you can refill your bottle from springs inside the gorge)
- Go slow in the first 2km of the walk & avoid stopping for a rest just below high cliffs
- Avoid resting for more than 15 minutes (especially if you are not used to this sort of walk) because your muscles will start to stiffen up and you will find it pretty hard to get going again
- Whilst in the village of Samaria take a quiet walk around it, you will probably catch a glimpse of the kri‐kri’s. The young ones get used to seeing people every day and are not that shy
- Always look where you are heading. When you want to look around, make sure you don’t block the path and then look
- Half way down the gorge lies the old village of Samaria. The village of Samaria has a telephone for communication with the police, a pharmacy, and two mules to transport injured persons
Important Notes
- Mandatory use of face covering and
pre-boarding health declaration questionnaire is required,
filled by all adults. Please download it here (English) or here (Greek) and have it filled before boarding on bus
- The travel agency reserves the right to alter or cancel any tour due to adverse weather conditions or insufficient passengers number or force majeure 12 hours prior to departure time with a notification to the traveler
- Please arrive on time to the given pick-up point. Unfortunately, there is no option to wait for latecomers. In case of delay, missed pick-up, missed departure time, no refunds
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