CONTENTS
Overview map
Map key
Introduction
Hillwalking and trekking regions
Plants, trees and flowers
Wildlife and hunting
Getting there
Getting to the trailhead
When to go
Shopping
Accommodation
Insects and other hazards
General information
Water
Types of pathways
What to take
Maps
Emergencies
Using this guide
Part 1 The White Mountains (Lefka Ori)
The Omalos Plain
Walk 1 Around the Omalos Plain
Walk 2 The Gorge of Samaria National Park
Walk 3 The Ascent of Gingilos
Walk 4 Xyloscala to Kallergi Refuge
Walk 5 Kallergi Refuge to Melendaou
Walk 6 Xyloscala to Koustoyerako via Strifomadi
Walk 6A Koustoyerako to Xyloscala via Strifomadi
Walk 7 Omalos to Koustoyerako via Ay. Theodoros chapel
Walk 7A Koustoyerako to Omalos via Ay. Theodoros chapel
Walk 8 Omalos to Ay. Irini Gorge
Walk 9 Ay. Irini Gorge to Souyia
Walk 9A Souyia to Lissos and Paleochora (E4 Trail)
Walk 10 Omalos to Zourva
Walk 10A Zourva to Omalos
Walk 11 Zourva to Meskla
Walk 12 Omalos to Lakki and Meskla
Walk 12A Lakki to Omalos
The Northern Foothills
Walk 13 Kambi to Volikas Refuge
Walk 14 Kambi to Melidoni
Walk 14A Melidoni to Kambi
Walk 15 Kares to Gournes
Walk 16 Melidoni to Fres
Walk 17 Fres to Vrisses
Walk 18 Fres to Vafes via Tzitzifes
Walk 19 Melidoni to Vafes via Vothanas
Walk 19A Vafes to Melidoni via Vothanas
Walk 20 Vafes to Vrisses
Walk 20A Vrisses to Vafes
Walk 21 Vafes to Askifou
The Askifou Plain
Walk 22 Around the Plain
Walk 23 Askifou to Imbros
Walk 24 The Imbros Gorge
Walk 25 Kommitades to Hora Sfakion
Walk 26 The Asfendou Gorge from Askifou
Walk 27 Askifou-Goni to Kallikratis
Walk 28 The Kallikratis Gorge
Walk 29 Askifou-Ammoudari to Niato (E4 Trail)
Walk 30 The Ascent of Kastro
Walk 31 Askifou to Imbros via Trikoukia
Walk 32 Askifou to Anopolis (or Hora Sfakion) via Kali Lakki
Walk 33 Askifou to Vafes
Walk 34 Krappis to Lake Kourna
Anopolis
Walk 35 Anopolis to Loutro
Walk 36 Kambia to Loutro
Walk 37 Kambia to Anopolis or Ay. Ekaterini
Walk 38 Kambia to Hora Sfakion
Walk 39 Anopolis to Aradena
Walk 39A The Aradena Gorge
Walk 40 Aradena to Ay. loannis and Sellouda
Walk 41 Aradena to Ay. Roumeli via Sellouda
Walk 42 The Aradena Forest and Kroussia
Walk 43 Anopolis to Askifou via Kali Lakki
The south coast of Sfakia
Walk 44 Hora Sfakion to Loutro (E4 Trail)
Walk 45 Hora Sfakion to Anopolis
Walk 46 Hora Sfakion to Mouri
Walk 47 Loutro to Livaniana and beyond
Walk 48 Loutro to Ay. Roumeli (E4 Trail)
Walk 49 The Gorge of Samaria National Park
Walk 50 Around Ay. Roumeli
Walk 51 The Eligias Gorge, Angelokampi and Turkish forts
Walk 52 Ay. Roumeli to Anopolis via Sellouda
Mountain treks
Trek 1 Theriso to Livada via Kolokithas
Trek 1A Livada to Theriso
Trek 2 Kambi to Livada via Volikas EOS Refuge
Trek 2A Livada to Kambi
Trek 3 Askifou to Livada via Niato and Grias Soros (E4 Trail)
Trek 3A Livada to Niato and Askifou (E4 Trail)
Trek 4 Livada to Katsiveli (E4 Trail)
Trek 4A Katsiveli to Livada (E4 Trail)
Trek 5 Katsiveli to Potamos (E4 Trail)
Trek 5A Potamos to Katsiveli
Trek 6 Omalos (or Kallergi Refuge) to Potamos (and Katsiveli) via Melendaou (E4 Trail)
Trek 6A Potamos to Kallergi Refuge (E4 Trail)
Trek 7 Potamos to Ay. Ioannis via Zaranokefala
Trek 7A Ay. Ioannis to Potamos via Zaranokefala
Trek 8 Anopolis to Katsiveli
Trek 8A Katsiveli to Anopolis
The Ascent of Pachnes
Trek 9 Roussies to Pachnes summit
Trek 9A Pachnes summit to Katsiveli
Trek 9B Katsiveli to Pachnes summit
The south coast
Trek 10 Ay. Roumeli to Souyia (E4 Trail)
Trek 10A Souyia to Ay. Roumeli (E4 Trail)
Part 2 Psiloritis (Mount Ida)
Walks and treks from trailheads of the foothills
Walk P1 Anoyeia to the Nida taverna
Walk P2 Zaros to Ay. Ioannis Rouvas chapel via the Rouvas Gorge
Walk P3 Ay. Ioannis chapel to the Nida Plain (E4 Trail)
Walk P4 Kamares to the Kamares Cave
Walk P5 Kamares Cave to the Nida Plain
Walk P6 Kamares to the summit of Mount Ida
Walk P7 The Arcadi monastery to Aravanes Kampos
Walk P8 Aravanes Kampos to the Nida Plain
Walk P9 Lakkos Mygerou (Livadia) to summit of Mount Ida
Walk P10 Aravanes Kampos to Toubotos Prinos EOS Refuge
Walk P11 The Amari Valley: Fourfouras and Kouroutes
Walks and treks from trailheads on the Nida Plain
Walk P12 Nida to the summit of Mount Ida (E4 Trail)
Walk P13 Summit of Mount Ida: descent to Kamares
Walk P14 Nida to Anoyeia on the E4 Trail
Walk P14A Nida to Anoyeia on Old Droving Trail
Walk P15 Nida to Ay. Ioannis chapel (E4 Trail)
Walk P16 Nida to Kamares via Kamares Cave
Walk P17 Nida to the Arcadi monastery
Part 3 The Lassithi (Dikti) Mountains
Walk L1 Kastamonitsa to Ay. Georgios (E4 Trail)
Walk L2 Ay. Georgios to Tzermiado
Walk L2A Tzermiado to Ay. Georgios
Walk L3 Tzermiado to Karphi and back
Walk L4 Ay. Georgios to the Katharo Plain and back
Walk L5 Ay. Georgios (for Mt Dikti summit) to Selakano (E4 Trail)
Walk L5A Selakano to Ay. Georgios (E4 Trail)
Walk L6 Selakano to the Katharo Plain (for Lassithi or Kritsa)
Walk L6A Katharo Plain via south rim road to Selakano
Walk L7 Katharo Plain to Kritsa (for Ay. Nikolaos)
Walk L7A Kritsa to the Katharo Plain
Walk L8 Magoulas to Xeniakos and Ano Viannos
Appendix A Route summary table
Appendix B Glossary
Appendix C Further reading
Appendix D Useful contacts
Appendix E Index of maps
Maps
Part of the challenge of mountain walking in Crete used to be that you had to work with small-scale maps, and this is still the case in some areas. However, since 2006, Anavasi of Athens has been producing – and this work is ongoing – large scale GNSS-compatible maps of all the best walking regions of Greece, including the Cretan mountains. Relevant to this guidebook there are four separate maps covering the White Mountains, one of Psiloritis (Mount Ida) and one of Lassithi.
Visit the Anavasi website for the latest information, including local stockists. Distribution has been good but even so it may be prudent to buy the maps you want (about £8 each) before your trip, either direct from Anavasi, or, in the UK, from Stanfords (see Appendix D). Digital versions of the maps for mapping receiver GPS users are available via the Anavasi website. These include newly researched paths and roads sooner than the paper maps are available. However, a basic GPS, adjusted to suit, will give you a grid reference – easier too, if you draw on the grid lines from the margins. Useful comments on the walking routes, including timings that are usually faster than those listed in this book, are found on the reverse side of each map.
Footpaths marked on maps
Starting from scratch with the new technology (rather than just copying footpaths from older maps) the Anavasi management, and volunteer helpers, do as much ground research themselves as time allows. Therefore some of the paths described in this book may not yet be shown on these maps – each new edition adds more – while others shown may not be described here. (There are lots of paths in the mountains, both old and new.) Members of the Cretan EOS have also modernised footpath research by depositing gpx/kml files on relevant databases and these have been used, along with Google Earth, to recheck the location of some of the old paths.
Traditional main mule track routes are marked on most small-scale maps, giving an indication of their existence (somewhere) even though trailheads may be hard to find.
Goatherds’ hut near Asfendami spring (May) (Walk L5)
Whether old or new, maps do not indicate the great cliffs and crags that are so characteristic of these limestone mountains. Where the researcher’s description says ‘difficult path’ you can be sure it means just that – such as rugged rocks and/or loose gravel. And any named gorge that looks like a valley on the map will indeed be a cliff-bound gorge. Google Earth will give you a preview of what to expect, although it can also make the topography look more daunting than it actually is.
To date the maps are:
The White Mountains, at scale 1:25,000:
Lefka Ori (White Mountains)–Sfakia/Pachnes (11.11/11.12), ed. 2012
Samaria–Sougia–Paleochora (11.13), ed. 2014
Frangokastelo–Plakias (11.17), ed. 2013
The Mount Ida/Psiloritis range, at scale 1:30,000:
Mt Idha (Psiloritis) (11.14), ed. 2013
The Lassithi Mountains, at scale 1:35,000:
Mt Dikti–Mt Selena (11.15), ed. 2014
Older editions of the Lefka Ori and Psiloritis maps (showing fewer paths) may still be available in some shops. Some users prefer these older maps.
Two 1:100,000 scale Harms Verlag contour maps are recommended as back-up and for their wider coverage. They are also the second best choice for walking:
Map 1 – Western Crete (includes the Lefka Ori and Psiloritis)
Map 2 – Eastern Crete (includes Heraklion, Lassithi and Sitea).
Anavasi also publish ‘Touring Maps’ at 1:100,000 scale.
Since new maps may appear at any time it is worth asking Stanfords for the latest publications (12–14 Longacre, London WC2; tel: 0207 836 1321).
In Chania, Pelekanakis on Halidon Street may have sold out of walkers’ maps by September, or, at least, the particular map you want. Anavasi maps are also found in Hora Sfakion, Loutro and Ay. Roumeli (where, naturally, the Samaria map is popular). Rethymnon old town has a well-stocked bookshop near Plateia Martyron. In Heraklion there are likely bookshops in the vicinity of Plateia Eleutherios Venizelou, including a foreign-newspaper stockist near the fountain.