The Samaria Gorge is 16 kilometers long, running from the Cretan highlands to the sea. It's a must-do for hikers, and we discovered that early on--there was a horde of tourists there even as early as we got started. The mountains at the beginning were stunning, and it just got better from there.
The Samaria Gorge is full of ancient plane trees, picturesque little Venetian chapels, and gorgeous scenery. It took us about four hours to hike it, and we were going pretty slowly--trying to keep behind the major groups of tourists. The high points include:
Crystal clear pools. There's a river running through the gorge, but it was pretty small this time of year. Still, we found several places where it had carved out gorgeous deep pools that were absolutely crystal clear. I couldn't resist swimming in one. It was crushingly hot in the gorge, the water was ice-cold, and I had my bathing suit on under my clothes. I'm pretty sure I managed to flash some passers-by anyway:
The chapel. This is the Church of Agios Nicolaos, and I'm not sure how old it is--there's no info on it online that I can find. However, another chapel in the gorge is from the 14th century--so it's possible this one is, too.
The village of Samaria. People actually lived in the gorge until 1962, when the gorge became a national park. The village is abandoned today, although I think there's a park ranger still living in one of the houses. And the goats are ubiquitous.
The narrowest point of the gorge. At one point, the gorge is only three meters wide:
Eventually we got to the end of the gorge--at the beach. This was the payoff. We stripped off our gross hiking clothes and plunged into the water. The best swims of my life have been the ones after a strenuous workout on a hot day--and I'll always remember this one.
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