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Crete is the largest island of
Greece and the fifth largest island
in the Mediterranean. A mountainous
island, it lies south of the Aegean
Sea, a link between Europe, Africa
and Asia. This geographical position,
being at the junction of major civilizations
and cultural currents, influenced
its history throughout the past
5000 years
Crete has an elongated shape, 260
km long from east to west and between
15 and 60 km wide. The coastline
is over 1000 km long and consists
of both sandy beaches and rocky
shores. The high mountains are a
characteristic of the Cretan landscape.
They form three mountain complexes,
each with its own ‘personality’.
Between the ranges lie semi-mountainous
zones which cover the greater part
of the island. There are also a
few low lying plains as well as
a number of high plateaux.
The climate is temperate Mediterranean.
Winter is mild, with snow on the
mountains and a good deal of rain
in the plains but still a
good deal of sunshine. The combination
of rain and relative warmth make
it one of the greenest places in
the Mediterranean basin, especially
in spring. The summers are hot and
dry, particularly on the shores
of the Libyan Sea (South coast of
Crete). Being a mountainous
island the weather changes can be
sudden and it is often windy (anything
from a light breeze to gale winds).
Crete has about 600.000 inhabitants,
of which over a third live in the
towns of Heraklion, Chania and Rethymnon.
The rest of the island is sparsely
populated, with large tracts of
mountainous areas frequented only
by shepherds.
The geographical diversity and wild
beauty of Crete, the friendliness
of its inhabitants as well as the
climate are gradually making
it into a choice destination for
walking and hiking. The whole island
is crisscrossed by trails, most
of them now disused since roads
have been built or used only by
shepherds. It is possible to walk
all day without meeting a soul and
still reach a village where you
can eat and sleep in relative comfort
before setting off for another day
in nature. The truly dedicated hikers
can go to areas that are completely
wild and never visited by anyone
but the occasional shepherd or hunter.
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We specialize in walks and activities
in West Crete although we can arrange
excursions to the more famous attractions
in the centre of Crete, such as
Knossos and other Minoan archaeological
sites or the Archaeological museum
of Heraklion as part of our tours.
The area we have chosen to run our
activities is centred around the
White Mountains. By far the most
interesting mountain range of Crete,
it has about 30 peaks rising over
2000m and is cut by around 50 gorges,
the most famous of which is the
gorge of Samaria. The area to the
South of the White Mountains plunges
steeply into the Libyan sea and
is the most spectacular (and least
developed) coastal area of Crete.
To the North of the White Mountains
lie the fertile plains of Apokorona,
the olive and orange groves of Kydonias
and Kissamos and the wild, arid
peninsulas of Rodopou and Gramvoussa
All in all this region offers an
exceptionally rich variety of landscapes,
for its comparatively small size.
You can view our extensive landscapes
photo gallery to get
a better idea.
For more information on Crete and
West Crete we suggest that you follow
the link to West-Crete.com |
