Samaria Gorge

Gorge and national park in Crete, Greece

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Samaria Gorge" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Samariá Gorge national park Walkers in the Samariá Gorge in 2022 Entrance to the Gorge Upper entrance Samaria Gorge Portes – the narrowest part

The Samariá Gorge (Greek: Φαράγγι Σαμαριάς or just Φάραγγας) is a National Park of Greece since 1962 on the island of Crete – a major tourist attraction of the island – and a World's Biosphere Reserve.

The gorge is in southwest Crete in the regional unit of Chania. It was created by a small river running between the White Mountains (Lefká Óri) and Mt. Volakias. There are a number of other gorges in the White Mountains. While some say that the gorge is 18 km long, this distance refers to the distance between the settlement of Omalos on the northern side of the plateau and the village of Agia Roumeli. In fact, the gorge is 16 km long, starting at an altitude of 1,250 m at the northern entrance, and ending at the shores of the Libyan Sea in Agia Roumeli. The walk through Samaria National Park is 13 km long, but one has to walk another two kilometers to Agia Roumeli from the park exit, making the hike 15 km long. The most famous part of the gorge is the stretch known as the Gates (or, albeit incorrectly, as "Iron Gates"), where the sides of the gorge close in to a width of only four meters and soar up to a height of almost 300 meters (980 feet). The gorge became a national park in 1962, particularly as a refuge for the rare kri-kri (Cretan goat), which is largely restricted to the park and an island just off the shore of Agia Marina. There are several other endemic species in the gorge and surrounding area, as well as many other species of flowers and birds.

The village of Samariá lies just inside the gorge. It was finally abandoned by the last remaining inhabitants in 1962 to make way for the park. The village and the gorge take their names from the village's ancient church, Óssia María.

Visitors to Crete can complete the walk down the gorge from the Omalos plateau to Agia Roumeli on the Libyan Sea, at which point tourists sail to the nearby village of Sougia or Hora Sfakion, where they could spend a night there, or they could catch a coach back to Chania. The walk takes five to seven hours and can be strenuous, especially at the peak of summer.

Local tourist operators provide organized tours to the Gorge. These include bus transportation from one's hotel to the entrance (near Omalos village), and a bus connection that will be waiting for hikers after they disembark the ferry in Sougia or Sfakia (Chora Sfakion). If you are on your own, you can make a one-day round trip from Chania (see below) or from Sougia or Paleochora. Note that the morning buses from Sougia and Paleochora do not operate on Sunday. The ferries leave Agia Roumeli to Chora Sfakion (eastbound) and to Sougia/Paleochora (westbound) at 17:30.

There also exists a way from Agia Roumeli to the Gates and back.

## Information provided by the Chania Forest Protection Service[1]

[edit]

* Visits to the National park are allowed from May 1 to October 31.
* Park visiting hours are 07:00 to 15:00 daily. From 15:00 to sunset, visitors are allowed to walk a distance of only two kilometers within the park, either from Xyloskalo or from Agia Roumeli.
* Within the park it is strictly prohibited to camp, stay overnight, light fires, or swim in the streams of the gorge.

## Other gorges in Crete

[edit]

* Agia Eirini Gorge
* Gorge of the Dead
* Ha Gorge
* Imbros Gorge
* Kotsifos Gorge
* Kourtaliotiko Gorge
* Richtis Gorge
* Sarakina Gorge

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Leaflet from NPS Tourist Office, 27/4/2008

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samaria Gorge.

* Samaria Gorge
* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Crete

People|

* Minos
* Epimenides
* Nearchus
* Georgios Chortatzis
* Vitsentzos Kornaros
* Marcus Musurus
* El Greco
* Cyril Lucaris
* Dimitrios Kallergis
* Eleftherios Venizelos
* Nikos Kazantzakis
* Sfakians
* Cretan Turks

History|

* Ancient Crete
* Minoan period
* Mycenaean period
* Classical and Hellenistic period
* Creta et Cyrenaica
* First Byzantine period
* Emirate of Crete
* Second Byzantine period
* Kingdom of Candia
* Revolt of Saint Titus
* Cretan War (1645–69)
* Ottoman Crete
* Greek War of Independence
* Cretan Revolt (1866–69)
* Cretan State
* Theriso revolt
* Battle of Crete
* Cretan resistance

Major cities|

* Agios Nikolaos
* Chania
* Heraklion
* Ierapetra
* Rethymno
* Siteia

Gorges|

* Agia Eirini Gorge
* Ha Gorge
* Imbros Gorge
* Kotsifos Gorge
* Kourtaliotiko Gorge
* Milona Gorge
* Richtis Gorge
* Samariá Gorge
* Sarakina Gorge

Landmarks|

| Ancient|

* Archanes
* Armenoi
* Eleutherna
* Gortyn
* Gournia
* Hagia Triada
* Kommos
* Knossos
* Kydonia
* Lato
* Malia
* Monastiraki
* Phaistos
* Polyrrhenia
* Tylissos
* Zakros

|

Museums|

* Archaeological Museum of Chania
* Cretaquarium
* Heraklion Archaeological Museum
* Nautical Museum of Crete
* St. Mark Basilica (Museum of Visual Arts)

Religious|

* Agia Triada Monastery
* Agios Minas Cathedral
* Agios Titos, Heraklion
* Arkadi Monastery
* Assumption Cathedral
* Gouverneto Monastery
* Küçük Hasan Pasha Mosque
* Moni Toplou
* Neradje Mosque
* St. Catherine, Heraklion
* St. Peter of Dominicans, Heraklion

Fortresses|

* Aptera
* Firkas
* Fortezza of Rethymno
* Frangokastello
* Gramvousa
* Kazarma
* Koules
* Spinalonga

Natural|

* Cave of Zeus
* Lasithi Plateau
* Lefka Ori
* Matala
* Messara Plain
* Mirabello Bay
* Mount Ida
* Psychro Cave
* Vai

Other|

* Elounda
* Sfakia
* Souda

Culture|

* Cretan Greek dialect
* Cretan school (icon painting)
* Cretan literature
* Cretan lyra
* Cuisine (wine)
* Kri-kri
* Mantinada
* Minotaur
* Music

* v
* t
* e

National parks of Greece

National (Woodland) Parks|

* Ainos
* Oiti
* Olympos
* Parnassos
* Parnitha
* Pindos
* Prespes
* Samaria
* Sounio
* Vikos–Aoos

National Marine Parks|

* Alonnisos
* Zakynthos

National Parks|

* Amvrakikos
* Axios-Loudias-Aliakmonas
* Chelmos-Vouraikos
* Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli
* E. Macedonia-Thrace
* Evros
* Kerkini
* Koronia-Volvi-Tempe
* Kotychi-Strofylia
* Messolonghi-Aitoliko-Acheloos-Evinos-Echinades
* N. Pindos
* Prespa Lakes
* Rodopi
* Schinias-Marathon
* Tzoumerka-Peristeri-Arachthos

35°16′16″N 23°57′41″E﻿ / ﻿35.27111°N 23.96139°E﻿ / 35.27111; 23.96139

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* FAST

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Israel

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template