|
The Samaria Gorge
The Samaria Gorge has been described as one of the most magnificent in the world and it is no coincidence that the Council of Europe awarded the area its Diploma First Class, as one of Europe's most beautiful spots.
In the early morning the sun rises, imprinting the shape of the White Mountains on the dense mist, whilst pines rustle, water chatters over stones, and the birds sings amongst the foliage.
This part of the Our Crete.co.uk website is my attempt to help you get to know more about this fascinating and spectacular natural wonder. The facts and descriptions used herein have been gathered from various sources, including own personal views of walking the gorge in the hope that they may be useful to the visitor.
FACTS ABOUT THE GORGE
Situated in the White Mountains ( or Sfakianes Madares ) which consist of 57 peaks of more than 2,000 metres in height. The tallest is the Pachnes at 2.456 metres, the second highest mountain in Crete.
The gorge is 13 km ( along the path from Xyloskalo ) or 16.7 km as far as the coastal town of Agia Roumeli. Descending dramatically from the Omalos plateau, this natural wonder was formed by a river which flows betwen Mount Volakias to the west and the towering bulk of the Leuka Ori to the east which, over time, has sliced a step, cavernous ravine between the two.
During the summer months the violent winter torrent reduces to a mere trickle and this is when the gorge is most commonly walked. So don't expect to be there on your own communing peacefully with nature. On the other hand, this is not a walk to be taken lightly : it can be a thorough and gruelling test of fitness and stamina. The Rangers, mules and helicopter standing by to rescue the injured are not mere talk: you need to be reasonably fit and/or used to lengthy walks; and you should have comfortable sturdy shoes that will stand up to hot, sharp rocks.
THE KRIKRI | | THE WILDLIFE
Gorge wildlife means most famously the kri-kri, for whose protection the national park was primarily created, but it is unlikely that you will see these large, shy nimble animals with their long backswept horns. More likely candidates are the mountain goats, local birds and reptiles including the odd snake.
There are wild irises and orchds, thyme, sage, oregano, and Cretan dittany. A celebrated medicinal herb referred to by Aristotle and Hippocrates in ancient times. |
MOUNT GIGILOS |
| 
VIEW BEFORE DESCENDING
|
WALKING THE GORGE
Our day began at 4.00am when the bus picked us up for our 4 hour drive to Samaria ( it was longer really, we had two 'pit stops' ). The journey was good and made more interesting by Jenny, our guide, pointing out places of interest and giving us informative facts about the places that we passed through and also the Gorge.
Eventually we arrived at the entrance to the Samaria Gorge ( at Xyloskalo, the 'wooden staircase' ) and each of us was given a ticket ( which was to be handed in at the Rangers Station at the end of the gorge, this is partly to make sure no one tries camping in the park, partly to check that nobody is lost inside ).
|
|
The Samaria Gorge begins very suddenly, on the far side of the Omalos plain, after a dull,flat plain you are faced with a great cleft opening beneath your feet. At the top is a large car park, with a couple of mobile stalls doing a brisk trade in hot coffee.
| |
THE OMALOS PLAIN | | This is a good place to contemplate the day ahead as you gaze in awe across at the limestone face of Mount Gigilos, which feels close enough to touch. |
 | |
We began our descent from 1,200 metres above sea level ( the gorge is mainly walked from the top to the bottom, although some do it the opposite way round ) along the well worn trail that rapidly snakes down, plunging 1000m in the first 2km of the walk, with spectacular views at ever turn. |
|
Near to the bottom stands the chapel of Saint Nikolaos, on a little terrace of cypress trees where there are benches from which to enjoy the view and take on fresh water. Beyond, the path begins gradually to level out, following the stream bed.
| | 
THE CHAPEL of ST. NICHOLAS
|
In the stream there are places where you can be sure of icy fresh water and pools to bath sore feet all year round ( mainly the middle sections ), but what starts in spring as a raging, even dangerous torrent had dwindled by autumn to a trickle between hot, dry boulders, often disappearing beneath the surface for long stretches.
|
Lying about midway through the walk is the abandoned village of Samaria, shortly before the 7km marker. Here in the disused village you will find a wardens' office and a public toilet, but for the most part the remains of the village are quietly crumbling away. The villagers, who were relocated in 1962 were predominantly members of the Viglis family, who claimed direct descent from one of twelve aristocratic clans implanted from the Byzantium era. The settlement, cut off by floodwater for much of the year, is a very ancient one and the church of Osia Maria, from which both gorge and village were named, was founded in the early fourteenth century.
 The IRON GATES |  The IRON GATES
lookin up stream |
Once passed the Samaria village, the path levels out, but the walls of the gorge begin to close in and you often have to cross the stream on stepping stones. The views looking up are spectacular but the highlight comes shortly after the Christos resting point in the form of the Sideroportes ( The 'Iron Gates') where two rock walls rise sheer to nearly a thousand feet, standing at the bottom, you can almost touch both sides at once. Almost as suddenly as you endered this mighty crack in the mountain you leave it aigain, the valley broadens, its sides fall away, and you're in a parched wilderness of debris left here by the spring thaw.
|
 AGHIA ROUMELI lookin back to the gorge | |
From this point the gorge widens and in about half an hour you are at the Rangers Guardpost, which marks the end of the gorge proper, and you leave the park passing a couple of drinks stalls, but this is not the end of the walk, you still have a further 2.4 kms to walk to get to Agia Roumeli. |
Arriving finally in Agia Roumeli proper you can get a well earned drink in one of the tavernas or take a plunge into the sea. Agia roumeli is a pretty attractive place, but that drink, or the plunge in the sea, are likely to live in the memory as the most refreshing ever.
The only way out of the gorge is by boat ( or walking back up ), so the amount of time you have in Agia Roumeli depends on how fast you walked the gorge.
Once aboard the boat ( and depending on your Travel Company ), you will be tranported to either Paleochora or Chora Sfakion to meet up with your bus and the long trek home. |
|
A TWIST IN THE TALE Just before the 6km marker Mamie, my partner, twisted her knee and I thought that I might have to get the 'Rescue Rangers' to get her out of the gorge on a mule. I wet a crepe bandage in the ice cold stream and strapped her leg, then with true American grit, she carried on.
The last person in our group to set off from the top of the gorge was Jenny our Guide. She sweeps down the gorge making sure that everyone in her group is ok.
When Jenny got to us, Mamie was struggling, but Jenny remained and walked with us for a while. She encouraged Mamie and eventually went on ahead and got a car from the taverna, where we were supposed to meet her, to come and pick us up. Pity that we were only half a mile from Agia Roumeli when it found us. From both of us, "A big THANK YOU Jenny, we love you..xxx"
| 
JENNY
( Our Rescue Ranger ) |
| |
