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A two-day traverse of the savage, treeless wilderness of the high White Mountains is spectacular, but only for very fit, experienced mountain walkers. The White Mountains rise to summits of almost 2,500 m (8,000 ft), and the climate is bitterly cold in winter and scorchingly hot in summer.

After marching up and down the Samaria Gorge, your journey can be extended along the coast by hopping on one of several daily boats that potter eastwards. All end up at the small port of Chora Sfakion.

This one-day walk follows a path along the pebbly beach of Agios Pavlos, then climbs the steep “Marble Stair” onto a high, pine-wooded plateau, descends into the Aradena Gorge, and finally zig-zags down a steep cliff to the delightful holiday village of Loutro.

At the foot of the Samaria Gorge, and so perfect for a restorative swim in its cool waters after the downhill hike.

If seeking solitude, this remote island could be an ideal stop-off between Crete and mainland Greece to the northwest. A weekly ferry sails between Kastelli, Andikithira, its larger neighbour Kithira and Gythio on the mainland.

At Chersonisos, the Aqua Splash Water Park is a playground of waterslides, waves and waterfalls.

The valley of the “white river” – a stream which, like most Cretan watercourses, flows only in winter and spring – opens into the sea at the east end of Makrygialos beach. Surrounded by pines, boulder-covered slopes, terraced fields and olive groves, it makes a pleasant walk.

In October, flowering from apparently barren ground, the autumn cyclamen signals the end of summer.