Hiking at Samaria Gorge! The Easy Way from Chania!
Short Description
If you are tired of walking but want photos for you Insta-followers, If you do not feel like walking today but want to admire the terrific natural environment, If you want to live a superior experience without getting tired, then this excursion is made for you! We will arrive around 7 o’clock in the morning and after a breakfast you will have the chance to photo-shoot the entrance of Samaria Gorge and admire the creation of the nature. The hiking escort will give you all necessary instructions and then he will enter the gorge with the rest of the group (you will meet again at Agia
Roumeli). The driver will take you to the small village of Sougia where you embark on the boat to reach the village of Agia Roumeli which is the exit of the gorge of Samaria.
You can walk until the exit of the gorge, to the “Iron Gates” or swim and have a lunch there until you meet with the rest of the group.
Samaria Gorge – Facts
The Samaria Gorge is the biggest, most imposing and beautiful gorge in Greece and 2nd in Europe, and that is why it is internationally renown and mostly visited, since more than 300.000 people cross it each year. It has a wonderful landscape with rare geo-morphological formations. It is a unique biotope with particular richness in fauna and flora. It has a rich mythology as well, that goes back to prehistorical years and a tumultuous history during the difficult years of Crete. Samaria Gorge was proclaimed National Park of the White Mountains of Crete in 1962 when a couple of local families were still living in the village of Samaria, in the middle of the gorge and who were mainly busy with cattle-breeding and woodcutting. The surface covered at the time was 48.500 sqm., whereas the expansion of the Park today at 250.000 sqm. includes a remarkable part of the White Mountains.
The main fauna species is the world-famous Cretan Chamois (wild goat – CAPRA AEGAGRUS CRETICA), an extremely beautiful and dashing animal that has been preserved, is now living freely in the gorge of Samaria and in the three gorges parallel to it. There is a total of 450 species of Cretan flora in the gorge, of which 70 are endemic, i.e. they grow in the gorge only. Among the well known flora species, you find the perennial gigantic cypresses once used in shipbuilding and in the construction of the pillars of the Palace of Knossos by the Minoan Civilization.
Please note: the hiking escort will be with you until Omalos Plateau. You will meet again at Agia Roumeli with the rest of the Samaria Gorge group.
07:30 Short stop at Omalos (1.200 m) – free time for breakfast and to take some pictures
08:00 Departure from Omalos to Sougia
09:00 Departure from Sougia to Agia Roumeli by boat
10:00 Arrival at Agia Roumeli walk into the gorge up to the Iron Gates (optional with fee – not included). Free time to eat, drink and to swim.
16:30 Meet your guide at Agia Roumeli and get the ferry-boat tickets to Sougia.
17:00-17:30 Departure from Agia Roumeli to Sougia
18:30 Arrival to Sougia
20:00 – 20:30 Arrival at your Hotel
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
- Pick-up from Kalyves area requires a minimum number of 4 adults with an extra charge of 6,00€ per person.
- The following are prohibited inside the gorge: radios, singing, excessive noise, disposal of rubbish in places other than those provided, smoking anywhere other than the rest points, consumption of alcohol.
- 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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