traveldk.com

Passing through the ruggedly beautiful scenery of the Samaria National Park, the Samaria Gorge is Crete’s most popular walk. The track descends steeply at first from the Omalos plateau, then passes through pine woods, wild flower meadows and ruined, deserted villages to emerge on the Libyan Sea at the small village of Agia Roumeli (see Samaria Gorge).

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.

The gorge, which cuts through the western fringes of the White Mountains, is a slightly shorter hike than the better known and much busier Samaria Gorge, but is almost as spectacular and – especially in spring and autumnallows you to escape from the crowds of day visitors.

The walk begins in the sleepy beach village of Sougia, on the eastern fringe of the White Mountains, and climbs first through fields and pastureland, then meadows of wild flowers and pine woods, onto barren slopes high above the sea, before descending to Agia Roumeli. Astute navigational skills and a good map are required.

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.

Also known as the “Valley of the Dead”, the walk through the Zakros Gorge follows a dry stream bed through eroded limestone cliffs with caves that were used as tombs by the Minoans.

The eight-hour ascent of the 2,456-m (8,055-ft) Mt Idi (also called Psiloritis), Crete’s highest mountain, begins on the Nida Plateau. An arduous climb, it should be attempted only by experienced walkers.

Allow around five hours to climb from the remote village of Kapetaniana to the summit of Kofinas and back. There are fine views of Mt Idi, the Dikti range, and the south coast.

The flat, dish-shaped Lasithi Plateau offers easy walking on dirt tracks and paths through fields, olive groves and orchards. Starting from Tzermiadou, the 7-km (4-mile) stroll to the Diktian Cave takes about two hours.

Only for very fit and experienced walkers, this is the longest and most arduous trek in Crete, a circuit of the island that takes at least 30 days to complete.