Samaria Gorge Full-Day Trek with Guide from Rethymno

Omalos Plateau and the Xyloskalo trailhead

The trek begins on the Omalos Plateau, a high basin about 1,050 m above sea level in the heart of the White Mountains (Lefka Ori). From Rethymno the coach drives west along the north coast, then climbs through olive groves and mountain villages, a journey of around two and a half hours. The trailhead at Xyloskalo, meaning wooden staircase, sits at about 1,230 m on the rim of the gorge, with a viewpoint over the forested ravine and the bare face of Mount Gingilos.

Here your guide gives a short briefing and you pay the national park entrance at the ticket booth. The first stretch is the steepest part of the whole route: a stone and timber path that zigzags down the slope with railings, losing several hundred metres of height in the first hour, so good boots and steady knees matter most at the start.

Samaria Gorge National Park

The Samaria Gorge has been a national park since 1962 and is also a UNESCO biosphere reserve. It shelters many rare Cretan plants found nowhere else in the wild and the refuge of the kri-kri, the shy wild goat of Crete, which you may spot on the cliffs. The path follows a stream bed under pine trees and ancient Cretan cypresses, with springs along the way where you can refill your bottle with mountain water.

As for Samaria Gorge opening hours, the park usually opens from May to October, depending on the weather, with entry from early morning until early afternoon; rangers close the route after heavy rain because of the risk of floods and rockfall. The best time to visit Samaria Gorge is late May, June or September, when the days are long but the heat in the lower gorge is gentler than in midsummer.

The abandoned village of Samaria

Roughly halfway down, the gorge widens into a green clearing where the village of Samaria once stood. Its families farmed and kept animals here until 1962, when they were moved out to create the national park. Today the stone houses are partly restored as ranger buildings, and the site is the main rest area of the hike, with toilets, shaded benches and fresh drinking water.

The gorge takes its name from the small chapel of Osia Maria, a fourteenth-century church in the village dedicated to Saint Mary of Egypt; over the centuries her name was shortened to Samaria. Your guide sets a short break here before the second half of the walk, which is flatter but rockier, with several stream crossings on stepping stones.

The Iron Gates (Sideroportes)

The most famous part of any Samaria Gorge tour is the Iron Gates, or Sideroportes, near the lower end of the route. Here the walls rise almost vertically for around 300 m while the passage between them narrows to just three or four metres. The path crosses the stream on wooden walkways and stones, and the light that falls into this deep slot makes it the favourite photo spot of the day.

Soon after the Gates you leave the national park and pass the ruins of the old village of Agia Roumeli, abandoned after floods. The valley opens up, oleanders line the dry river bed, and the last few kilometres lead gently down towards the sea, usually under a strong afternoon sun, so keep some water for this final stretch.

Agia Roumeli and the Libyan Sea

Agia Roumeli is a small village at the mouth of the gorge on the Libyan Sea, and it can only be reached on foot or by boat. After four to seven hours of walking you have free time here to rest, find lunch in one of the tavernas and swim from the long pebble beach in clear, deep blue water, the reward that makes the long descent so worthwhile.

The village is tiny but well equipped for hikers, with cafes, showers on the beach and shops selling cold water. Keep an eye on the time your guide gives you, because the boat leaves at a fixed hour in the late afternoon and does not wait. Your boat ticket is bought here or at the pier and is not included in the price.

Boat along the south coast of Crete

Because no road reaches Agia Roumeli, the day ends with a boat trip east along one of the wildest coastlines in Greece. Steep cliffs drop straight into the sea, and the boat usually calls at the car-free village of Loutro, a cluster of white houses around a sheltered bay, before landing at Chora Sfakion, where our coach is waiting.

From Chora Sfakion the drive back to Rethymno crosses the mountains through the Askyfou plateau and takes around two hours, and you are dropped off at your hotel or pickup point in the evening. Sit back and enjoy the views: after a long hike, this calm sea crossing is one of the most memorable moments of the day.