|
Sfakia Region
Chania Samaria Gorge; the largest in Europe, main trekking excursion in Sfakia |
Welcome to Sfakia!
To have chosen this region and managed to be here, you must be a very special kind of person. People in Sfakia know it, so their welcome is much warmer; you will have the opportunity to feel this welcome repeatedly, for as long as you are a visitor here. If it is true that visitors are considered as guests everywhere in Crete, it is even more so here.
Sfakia is almost the southernmost part of Europe and lies in the southwestern part of Crete. It is nearest to Chania than to Heraklion, so do choose Chania airport if you have the choice. From there it is much easier to arrive here, since there is also a public bus line to Sfakia. Also, the route is of special interest, since it goes through the best part of the impressive Lefka Ori (White Mountains), crossing them to reach the south. These are mountain ranges still untamed, of more than 2500 meters (7500 ft) in height! The road follows deep gorges or eyebrows of precipices. Depending on the means of transportation, it takes one and a half to two hours driving to get here.
Mass tourism has so far failed to discover this region; it is, as are all good things in life, spared for the inquisitive and the daring. It has, this way, preserved most of its traditional ways and its social, cultural and natural characteristics. A rugged environment, it is richly rewarding regardless of the way you wish to enjoy it; mountain hiking or swimming at secluded beaches, diving or fishing, trekking or mountain climbing, bird watching or learning how to play tavli, the traditional backgammon game invented in ancient Greece; anything you decide to embark on will prove deeply relaxing and relieving ...Continue
Chania Samaria Gorge: Same as above, higher resolution |
|
Chania Samaria Gorge |
|
Chania Samaria Gorge Exit to the Sea, at Aghia Roumeli Beach |
|
Rethymno: Plakias |
|
|
|
|
|