Listed 8 sub titles with search on: Sights for wider area of: "LAKKI Village MOUSSOURI" .
OMALOS (Plateau) CHANIA
At 1,080 metres in altitude, the plateau of Omalos is one of the three
highest large plateaus of Crete. The plateau of Nida in Psiloritis is at 1,400
metres and Niatos, above Askifou, is 1,500 metres high. The plateau has three
exits. The first one is the road from Chania. The entrance to the plateau (1,087m)
on this road is called the Neratzoporta --The Orange Door. The second exit is
the Samaria Gorge, which ends at Agia Roumeli. The third exit is in the southwest
corner of the plateau. The road from here reaches Sougia through wild and captivating
scenery. The plateau is surrounded by the peaks of the Lefka Ori: Volakias (2,116m);
Gigilos, in front of Xiloskalo (2,081m); Samberos (2,005m), on the west side of
the Samaria Gorge; and Psilafi (1,984m). The plateau is roughly triangular in
shape and each side is about an hour's walk. During the winter months, snow may
cover Omalos and the road may be closed for several days. The Omalos Plateau is
green except in midsummer and is covered by wild flowers in the spring. The physical
beauty of the area is as exhilarating as the mountain air and the plateau is a
marvellous area for mountain hiking or walks. On the plateau there are tavernas
and hotels, some of which are equipped for winter stays.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
It is one of the most remarkable gorges of Sfakia where a few couples
of wild goats still live (the seldom Cretan Chamois).
Its passage starts from the village of Agios
Ioannis in Sfakia (at an altitude of 780 m and a distance of 92 km from Chania).
You need around 1 hour in order to reach the location of Kormokopos, where there
are caves with water, before starting descending the gorge (up to that point,
you need a guide). The gorge ends in the very beautiful piny sand beach of the
Libyan Sea, after another
2 hours' walk. From the beach to Agia
Roumeli, you have to walk one more hour. The above crossing covers half the
gorge. If you wish to cross all of Elygia, you need an experienced guide and at
least 2 days at you disposal. You start from the plateau of Omalos and walk via
the refuge of Kallergi and the summit of Melinataou (at an altitude of 2133 m)
before reaching the location "Potamos" in the White
Mountains. After a vertical descent of 10 m you reach the bottom of the gorge
and walk on up to the coast of the Libyan Sea.
The Omalos-Potami trek takes 6 hours and another 6 hours from there
to the coast.
This text is cited April 2003 from the Prefectural
Committee for Tourism Promotion of Chania pamphlet.
This gorge is one of the biggest and most difficult of access in Chania,
which requires a guide to be crossed, and at least one and a half days available.
The first afternoon you can climb up (via the plateau of Omalos at an altitude
of 1200 m) the mountain of Grigkilos, very precipitous mountain with alpine configuration.
You pass under a natural arch at an altitude of 1400 m from the frozen water source
of Linoseli. In order to approach the summit, where you spend the night outdoors
or in the ruined sheepfold of Tzatzimou, you need to walk for 2,30 hours at an
altitude of 2080 m.
The myth says that it is on this summit that Cratagenous Jupiter had
his throne, and westwards, on the nearby more regular peaks, he had his harness
racing. At the source of Linoseli there was a famous ancient oracle as well.
From Gigilo up to the coast, you have to walk for about six hours.
If there is no boat waiting for you there, you will walk for another three hours
(right-and upward from the old village), before reaching the very beautiful littoral
village of Sougia in Selino
(70 km distant from Chania)
There is a wide diversity of fauna and flora species in the gorge,
which is the dwelling place of the Cretan Chamois as well.
You will find a cistern, a goat sheepfold and the chapel of Saint
Nicholas there also.
This text is cited April 2003 from the Prefectural
Committee for Tourism Promotion of Chania pamphlet.
SAMARIA (National Park) CHANIA
The Samaria Gorge is the longest in Europe, with a total length of
18km. The width of the gorge is 150 metres at its widest to 3 metres at its narrowest.
Its status as a national park protects its rare flora and fauna. The walk through
the gorge takes between 6 and 8 hours. The path runs downhill but requires strong,
comfortable footwear and some degree of physical fitness.
The gorge begins at Xiloskalo (Wooden Stairs) which, as the name suggests, is
a wooden staircase descending steeply to the river bed through an impressive forest
of trees and exceptional views. At the bottom, near the small church of Agios
Nikolaos, one can relax for a few minutes and enjoy the view. The path then follows
the river bed. Here the mountains tower more than 2,000 metres above sea level.
The highlight of the walk is the Sidheres Portes or Iron Gates. Here the walls
of the gorge are only 3 metres apart and tower to 600 metres on either side.
You can glimpse the blue sea in the distance.
Agia Roumeli lies at the end of the gorge. From here boats take you to Hora
Sfakion where buses transport visitors back to Chania.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
The gorge of Samaria is the biggest, most imposing and beautiful gorge
in Chania and in Europe, and
that is why it is internationally renown and mostly visited, since more than 300.000
people have the opportunity to cross it each year. It has a wonderful landscape
with rare geo-morphological formations. It is a unique biotope with particular
richness in fauna and flora. It has a rich mythology as well, that goes back to
pre-historical years and a tumultuous history during the difficult years of Crete.
It was proclaimed National Park of the White
Mountains of Crete in 1962,
date at which two or three Sfakian families still lived in the village of Samaria,
in the middle of the gorge, who were mainly busy with cattle-breeding and woodcutting.
The surface covered at the time was 48.500 sq.m., whereas the expansion
of the Park is promoted today on 250.000sq.m. that will include the remarkable
portion of the White Mountains.
The gorge was awarded the following prizes:
•1971: National Diploma of Nature Protection.
•1973: was proclaimed a place of special natural beauty.
•1979: First Order European Diploma of Protection of the Natural Environment
awarded by the Council of Europe, renewable every 5 years. The same diploma was
indeed awarded anew in 1984, 1989, 1994 and 1999.
The length of the passage to the limits of the park is 12.800km and
the distance to the coast of Agia
Roumeli is then another 3.200km.
The gorge can usually be visited from the beginning of May till the
end of October, unless there are bad weather conditions. There are guardhouses
of the State’s Service of the Park (Forest Inspection Service) at the beginning
of the gorge (in the village of Samaria) and at its end. A doctor is also available
to serve the visitors of the gorge, as well as a helicopter airport in Agia
Roumeli.
The gorge has a lot of narrow passes that are called “gates”,
but the narrowest pass, the “Iron Gate”, is 3m wide and 300 to 700m
high from both sides. There are a lot of spots where you can walk over the river
of the gorge on small wooden bridges.
(Text: Antonis Plymakis)
This text (extract) is cited February 2004 from the Chania
Prefecture Tourism Committee tourist pamphlet.
LAKKI (Village) MOUSSOURI
Further on the road to Omalos is a memorial plaque to World War II
resistant fighters killed by the Germans. The New Zealander Dudley Perkins (Kiwi
or Vasili) and his Cretan companion were ambushed near here on 28/02/1944. Their
bravery is recorded in the Cretan folklore and their exploits written in The Cretan
Runner by George Psychoundakis and Vasili The Lion of Crete by Murray Elliot.
Mr. Perkins is buried in the Allied War Cemetery in Souda Bay.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below.
OMALOS (Plateau) CHANIA
At the beginning of the plateau proper, on an eastern hill, there
is the house and grave of Hatzi Michalis Yannaris, a famous revolutionary of the
1866 Rebellion. The chapel of Agios Pandeleimonas beside the house was built by
him in thanks for his release from prison.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
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