Exploring Crete

The "Exploring Crete" trip starts and ends in Chania. It is a walking trip that takes 8 days taking you through Chora Sfakion, Agia Roumeli and Chania in Greece. "Exploring Crete" is a self-guided private trip that includes accommodation, transport, meals and others.

Discover Crete, the largest of the Greek Islands, on foot. Rich in natural splendour, and in countless reminders of its ancient and turbulent past, Crete affords an inexhaustible source of vivid impressions. Our introduction to western Crete is Chania, with its busy and colourful market and lively waterfront. Inland, where the Levka Ori (White Mountains) rise to over 2400m/8000ft, the high ground is riven by a series of deep gorges leading down to the south coast. The Samaria gorge is now a National Forest Park, while the Imbros Gorge was at one time a main route for pack animals across the island. As you hike through this largest of all Greek islands, there are orange and olive groves, forests of cypress, pine and evergreen oak - and a profusion of wild flowers, some of them found only in Crete, for the island is host to more plant species than are found in the whole of the British Isles. This wealth of flowers and herbs sustains a large insect and butterfly population, which, in part, explains the popularity of Crete with migrant birds. Some 250 different species of migrant birds have been identified in Crete. In the high mountains griffon vultures and even lammergeiers may be observed as well as other birds of prey. You also pass the scattered ruins of former civilisations and occupations, including Roman, Byzantine, Venetian, and Turkish. However to see remains of the earlier Minoan civilisation you will need to spend longer on Crete.Cretan life reflects its natural surroundings. In the foothill villages, where life is simple and very close to nature, you will meet a proud people, devoted to their customs and traditions, and genuinely generous in their hospitality.