Today was a very, very long day but also an incredible one! Knossos was John’s number one of the trip and this was mine – hiking the Samaria Gorge.
The Samaria Gorge is a national park of Greece and includes a trek of 16km (that’s 10 miles – I had to look it up) starting at an altitude of 1250m (400+ feet) and ending at the shores of the Libyan Sea. The gorges in Crete, including Samaria, were formed due to the movement of tectonic plates over thousands of years.
We started from our hotel at 5:30 am to travel to the tour meetup. We’d finally decided to do a tour after a lot of thought and back and forth on pros and cons. See, it’s pretty easy to drive – or get a bus – to the gorge entrance but since the hike ends on a beach that is only accessible by foot or boat, there’s not a great way to get back to a car or an accessible bus. Just for logistics alone we decided the organized tour was the best option. You’re not hiking with anyone; they just take care of the transportation.
The gorge starts off shaded, steep and full of switchbacks with rocks of all sizes and shapes to traverse. As you descend every view is more amazing than the next. But nothing we hadn’t seen before – just stunning mountains in the distance and a rocky trail ahead.
As you descend further however, you get into the gorge itself. THIS is not like anything you’ve seen before! Or – anything I’ve seen before! Massive boulders surround you as you navigate a dry river bed filled with smaller boulders and loose rocks. Our guide warned us not to yell or sing too loud as it could cause falling rocks!
The Samaria Gorge is absolutely stunning! But not in the stunning way of Elafonisi Beach. This is massive and harsh and a bit treacherous. Each view is more impressive than the next. I kept saying, “Oh my God”. The pictures simply do not do it justice but we did take a ton of them.
About halfway down you end up in the ancient village of Samaria. This village was finally abandoned, however, in 1962 – not that long ago. And the rangers who care for the park still stay in the restored houses in the village.
About two thirds of the way down you come upon the Gates. This is an area of the gorge that is 3m (9 feet) across at its narrowest and soars to a height of 300m (~1000 feet). You navigate over a wood bridge and hang onto a rope as the wind rushes at you through the mountains. Just spectacular!
When you finally get to the end of the Samaria national park you still have to walk another 3km (if you choose!) to get to the sea. You arrive at the tiny seaside village of Agia Roumeli. Now, instead of the Aegean Sea, you’re at the Libyan Sea. Completely on the other side of the island. Agia Roumeli definitely caters to the gorge walkers but is also considered a tourist destination.
We finished the trek in about 5 hours which I think is considered average. We took food and drink breaks and many, many photo breaks. It is a fairly easy trek. Just try to wear some boots with good tread as the rocks are loose and slippery.
What’s the first thing we did?!?! A local beer of course! Big for me and small for John. And a nice relaxing meal sitting seaside and watching the other hikers bobbing in the water.
It was a very long bus trip back. Logistically the tour was the right thing to do. But tip: do it from Chania, not Heraklion if possible. It’s a much more palatable bus ride.