Hiking Samaria Gorge, Crete

Hania, Crete with mountains with gorges in the background.

We traveled 3 hours west from Iraklion in a comfortable bus to reach the seaside town of Hania. We roamed around this quaint Mediterranean town taking in the narrow pedestrian streets, the ruins of the fort above it and the waterside quay under overcast skies with spits of rain. We ended the evening drinking Alpha beer at a seaside table, reading, and watching the wind swept waves crash on the breakwater 6 feet below us.

Walking along the sea in Hania.

Pre-hike dinner.

Our main reason for going to Hania, was to hike 16km down the Samaria Gorge.    The area was recognized as a Greek National Park in 1962. The Kri-Kri goat, and 450 species of flora and fauna inhabit this area. Seventy species are found only here so the area is also recognized as a World Biosphere Reserve.  The gorge was created by a water cutting through the marble, limestone and dolomite rocks between the White Mountains, the largest mountain range in Crete.   The altitude at the north end of the gorge at Omalos is 4,100 ft. We hiked the gorge from north to south with most of our steps losing elevation as we headed towards the Libyan Sea and Agia (beach) Roumeli.

The Yosemite of Crete.

 To reach the trailhead at Omalos, we left the hotel a little after 6:00am and walked the half mile to the bus station via a bakery, bought bus tickets and caught the full 7:45am bus to Samaria Gorge National Park.  Most of the drive, the bus climbed steep switchbacks straddling the road on the curves.  We paid our 5 Euros trekking fee and asked for a map. We were told there is only one trail so no map. So, we headed down. At times, we were walking in a queue, at other times there was no one in sight.  At times we were walking down steps, at other times over the river bedrock. 

Andrew on the trail.

There were a few springs to refill water bottles and a few water closets along the trail. We passed 3 park rangers and 2 donkeys that act as ambulances with hiker injuries. What we passed in abundance were small fire station huts and about every 50 feet large red boxes that contained fire extinguishers.  We saw no evidence of past fires but as in peak season over 3000 hikers could be on the trail, a fire could be catastrophic in the narrow gorge. 

The oddest flower--Uncle Albert has one growing at his cottage in Michigan.

Twisted trees along the trail.

Refreshing fall of water.

Taking in the grand view.

The temperatures were crisp at the start of the walk. Andrew did not bring a jacket on our 3 week Greek escapade, so he wore two of his short sleeve shirts. I had my scarf and windbreaker on for the first third of the hike. We carried 2 wine bottle size waters, cheese and bread, fruit and our large two inch high raspberry almond muffins from the bakery. The hike began with tall Cretan pines that allowed only peeking views of Mt. Volakias, the highest peak at 6,942 ft. We were delighted to be among trees as they are a rarity in Malta.  We trodded down from the pine forest to the river gorge. Initially the river ran dry, not unlike our San Diego stream beds, then we heard water running and were walking along its banks. The water disappeared underground, only to reappear again at the ghost town of Samaria Village.  The people of the town were relocated when the gorge became a national park. The park is not open in the winter with the snow melt and rains, the river flows high making it impassable. This year the gorge opened a few weeks early in late April, usually it opens the beginning of May.

The trail turns to river bed rock and the gorge begins to narrow.

Narrows a bit more.

About at the narrowest spot.

We were on the trail for 5 hours, stopping to snack and take pictures along the way.  We crossed the river often on crudely made log ladders.  We passed through the narrow (10 feet wide) portion of the gorge looking straight up the dolomite cliffs that are stained with dark color of iron bands. The dark bands were created billions of years ago by stromatoliths, small organisms who utilize dissolved iron oxide and release oxygen.  The accumulation of this oxygen byproduct played a key role in creating oxygen in our current atmosphere.

A quiet spot along the trail.

 We continued down to the black sand beach (another 3 km-downhill), buying  our ferry ticket back to Hora Scolia as we passed through the small town.  The belly whomping black sand beach was a welcoming site as we were sticky and sweaty as the lower trail consisted of  rocky river bed without tree cover, exposing us to the midday sun. We changed into bathing suits on the beach as did all of our fellow hikers and went into the Jacuzzi like surf of turquoise waters.

Agia Roumeli.

 Hundreds of us trudged on to the ferry at 5:15pm. It took an hour to reach Hora Scolia, where we paid to return on the public bus. It was then that we saw over 10 tour company buses and realized how the majority of the folks had found the trailhead. We returned to Hania after 8:30pm.  We sorely walked to our hotel and collapsed into bed after a much needed warm shower. We ate whatever we had left in our hotel frig (not much) and fell fast asleep with the satisfaction of physical exertion and exhaustion. In the one day, we had traveled from the north to the south coast of Crete and back again. It led to a night of sound slumber. Ahh. 

Ferry boat approaching.

Southern shore of Crete.