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New opening times of the gorge of Samaria
The Samaria National Park has traditionally always
opened to the public at the beginning of May. In the last few years it has often been possible to enter the gorge of Samaria in April from the bottom part. This depends of course on he weather and the amount of work needed to restore the path after the winter rains.
Dispelling a few myths about Samaria
It seems that most of what has been written about the
gorge of Samaria was plagiarized from the same original source. This
means that the same errors have been repeated almost everywhere and
this has been going on for years. So first let's put a few things
right:
The gorge of Samaria is not 18 km long (the 18 km
refers to the distance between the settlement of Omalos on the northern side of the plateau and the village
of Agia Roumeli) but is 16 km long, starting at an altitude of 1250m
and taking you all the way down to the shores of the Libyan sea in
Agia Roumeli. The walk through the National Park of Samaria is 13
km but you will have to walk the extra 3 km to Agia Roumeli from
the exit of the National Park making it 16 km.
The very narrow passage near the end of the gorge is
often called the "Iron Gates". None of the former inhabitants
of Samaria know why the place suddenly got this name. They were always
known by the locals as "Portes" which means "doors" or "gates",
but certainly no "Iron" anywhere!
Samaria is said to be the longest gorge in Europe.
I am not sure about this. As far as I know the "gorges
du Verdon" in South France are a little over 20 km in length.
Similarly, the gorge of Tripiti which runs west of the gorge of Samaria
is about as long, but almost nobody knows it.
The gorge of Samaria is situated in the National park of Samaria,
in the White Mountains in West Crete.
The park is supervised by the Department of Forestry and the gorge is generally
open only from the beginning of May to the end of October. In winter, high
water makes the gorge dangerous and impassable. It will also be closed on rainy
days (too dangerous because of rock falls)
You have to pay an entrance fee of Euro 5.00 to enter the park (free
to children under 15, half price to students).
So what do you get for your 5 Euro? The path is maintained and is
substantially better than "normal" paths in Crete. There are guards
along the way (in radio contact with each other) who will help you
in case of trouble or injury. There is also a doctor stationed in
the abandoned village of Samaria. There are well-maintained springs
on the way so that you do not have to carry much water. There are
toilets in several places and plenty of rubbish bins. You find surprisingly
little litter, considering the amount of people passing through every
day.
You also get a set of rules,
aimed at protecting the park and making the experience safe and pleasant
for everyone.
The gorge is open only during the day time and if you want to start
walking in the afternoon you will only be allowed in up to a certain
point. The guards want to make sure that everybody who walks in also
gets out before nightfall. This is the reason why they ask you to
present your ticket on the way out as it (supposedly) enables them
to know if there is anyone still in the park at night.
When is the best time to walk through the gorge?
The problem with Samaria is the crowds. It has become one of the" musts" if
you go to Crete and there are up to 3000 visitors a day on very
busy days. If you have the bad luck to pick one of those days,
the atmosphere will be really spoilt. Starting at dawn (before
the tourist coaches arrive) will give you a bit of a head start.
It is possible to find good (and cheap) accommodation in Omalos.
The first tourist buses arrive at around 7.30 am and from then on it is an
uninterrupted stream of buses until about 11.00 am.
You can also start walking after 12.00, there won't be many people but you
will most probably need to spend the night in Agia
Roumeli because the last boat out will have left when you get there.
As far as the times of the year are concerned, the best time is
in the spring: the weather is still cool and the vegetation is
at its best. The worst time is in the middle of the summer during
a heat wave. Give it a miss and come again at a better time.
Getting there
If you get there with your own car you will be forced
to get back to Omalos to retrieve your car so it is not such a
good solution.
Alternatively there are public buses (KTEL) going
to Omalos from Chania every morning (only when the gorge is open).
Once in Agia Roumeli you take one of the boats returning to Hora
Sfakion (or Sougia and
Paleochora if you prefer although there is no connecting bus to
Chania) and take an evening KTEL bus back to Chania.
If you are not alone, why not share a taxi to Omalos?
The cost from Chania is no more than Euro 40 for up to 4 persons.
The most common way to "do" the gorge is
to book an organized tour. This can be done from most places on
the north coast (some come from as far as Agios Nikolaos, which
I wouldn't recommend because it entails an almost 24 hour round
trip!). You will be picked up from and returned to your hotel.
The buses are air-conditioned (generally not the case with public
buses) and you have the benefit of a guide. This does not mean
that you need to walk in a group: everyone walks at their own pace
and meets at a prearranged time and place in Agia Roumeli. These
tours are not very expensive.
What to take with you on this walk?
- A water bottle which you can refill on the way.
- Sun cream and a hat, especially for the last part
of the walk which has very little shade.
- Good shoes. These don't have to be hiking boots
but you won't be contributing to your enjoyment by wearing tennis
shoes or sandals.
- Some food. There is no food available inside the
National Park.
- A jumper for the early morning: it can be cold
at 1200m.
- A supply of plasters in case of blisters.
What sort of terrain will you encounter?
Stones , stones and more stones! The terrain is
stony most of the time but it varies. At the beginning the path
is paved with uneven stones, then at times it is more like a
forest path with some earth. Once you reach the river bed you
walk mainly on pebbles (tiring on the sole of the feet). You
also have to cross the river at least a dozen times, sometimes
on small wooden bridges but more often by stepping on rocks.
These have been placed at strategic intervals but still require
some sure-footedness. The only easy path is once you leave the
southern end of the National Park: it is flat and there are no
stones, no shade either so that the last 3 km can be really really
hot in summer
How long does it take and how fit do you need
to be?
A walk of 16 km on flat ground should take about
3 hours if you walk at a brisk pace. This is theoretically quite
easy in the gorge of Samaria as you are going down most of the
time. I have crossed it in 2 hours on days where I was in a hurry.
If you do not know the way and if you are not that used to walking
on Cretan terrain (even if it is a very good path by Cretan standards)
you will need quite a bit longer of walking time. My guess
is about 4 hours although some may need a little longer, especially
if you take a long time covering the first 2 km which are very
steep and require a little bit of experience and strong knees to
walk at a good pace.
Add to this time to rest, to look at the scenery, take photographs and you
can count about 6 or 7 hours to cover the entire distance.
The walk is long and can be arduous but it is not
a difficult walk. Still, every day people get into trouble or end
up having an experience which is far from pleasant. The most common
factors are:
- people who never do any exercise and suddenly want their
body to walk 16 uneven km without protesting.
- bad shoes creating blisters and / or foot-ache.
- problems with the heat (in summer).
- knee problems that develop during the steep descent
at the beginning of the walk and have no time to get better once
that original strain is over.
Taking children
I have had a 5 year old child in one of my groups
happily walk the whole length of the gorge but he was an exception.
Most young children have no problems walking but will not hold
the distance. You might end up having to carry them which is
nobody's idea of fun on such a long walk. I would not recommend
taking children younger than 8 or 9. From that age onwards they
generally have far less problems than their parents but they
tend to walk a little too quickly, jump about ...and fall. Make
sure you have them in sight most of the time (or at least ensure
that you know if they are in front of you or behind!) and try
to get them to slow down when they get carried away.
Taking your dog for a walk
You may take your dog with you in the gorge provided
it is on a leash at all times. And I mean at ALL times.
Various advice
- I have said it already but it is worth repeating: drink plenty
- Avoid stopping for a rest just below high cliffs: there is
always a risk of stones falling, especially if it has rained
recently or if it is windy. The risk of a stone falling on you
is minimal (although it has happened before) but there is no
point in increasing it.
- Do not shout or whistle loudly, it is unpleasant for others
and increases the risk of stones falling.
- The village of Samaria, situated roughly at the halfway point
is the place where most people will take a longer rest. Avoid
resting for more than half an hour (especially if you are not
used to this sort of walk) because your muscles will start to
stiffen up and you will find it hard to get going again.
- Whilst in the village of Samaria take a quiet walk around it,
you will probably catch a glimpse of the kri-kris. The young
ones get used to seeing people every day and are not that shy.
- Go slow during the first 2 km of the walk. The path is very
steep, the stones worn smooth and slippery and this is where
most accidents happen.
- Always look at where you are going. When you want to look around
(and you will, believe me!) first stop and then look. It takes
only a split second of inattention to trip on a stone, fall down
and hurt yourself.
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