Samaria
National Park
The Samaria Gorge, along with the surrounding slopes and other smaller gorges, constitutes the National Park of the White Mountains or Samaria. It is located in Chania Prefecture in West Crete and covers an area of over 48 km2. It is one of the first national parks in Greece, a designation it received in 1962. Since 1981 it has been included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves, with the aim of promoting and protecting valuable sites for people and the rest of the biosphere.
The Samaria Gorge, a formation unique in the Mediterranean, runs roughly 16 km from Xyloskalo on the south side of the Omalos Plateau in the White Mountains, at an altitude of 1,200 m., down to Agia Roumeli on the South Sea of Crete. Hiking is allowed only along the central path, which follows the slope of the terrain. Visitors can cross the gorge starting at either Xyloskalo or Agia Roumeli.
The most popular route is the one that starts from Xyloskalo, runs through the forest and the village of Samaria (7 km in), and then follows the dry riverbed. In many places, when there is water in the river, visitors can cross it using small wooden bridges or stepping-stones. The most famous part of the gorge is Portes, the “Iron Gates”, near the forest outpost of Agia Roumeli. Visitors can choose which end to enter the gorge from, either downhill from Xyloskalo or uphill from Agia Roumeli; you also have the option of hiking a short section of the route and returning to your starting point.
The terrain varies. It includes many peaks over 2,000 m high (the peak of Volakias is 2,116 m. asl) and descends to the sea. Deep, imposing ravines, picturesque streams, springs and dense forests form a wonderful landscape. The impressive geological formations and many unexplored features, together with the particularly rich variety of flora and fauna, make up a uniquely wild and majestic spectacle. The White Mountains are home to more than 900 plant species, of which 110 are endemic to Crete and 25 are unique to the area.
The area is particularly rich in fauna, with 32 mammal species, the Cretan shrew being the only endemic species, 3 amphibian species, 11 reptile species and about 200 bird species. But the trademark of the Samaria Gorge and the White Mountains as a whole is the protected Cretan wild goat (Capra aegagrus cretica), the symbol of Crete and the largest mammal of the island.
Traces of
Human Presence
The Samaria Gorge is not only a site of outstanding natural beauty but also one of great cultural interest, due to constant human presence in the region since ancient times.
Human activity is documented not only at the exit of the gorge, where the ruins of ancient Tarra, dating from the 8th century BC onwards, are found in modern-day Agia Roumeli, but also inside the gorge itself. The first archaeological data have revealed evidence of uninterrupted human activity from the 6th century BC to the 3rd century AD. In 1991, traces of an open-air sanctuary were found at the site of Agios Nikolaos (St Nicholas), with most of the finds dating from the Roman period. Habitation continued in the following centuries, into the Byzantine and Venetian periods, as the villages of Samaria and Agia Roumeli are mentioned in Venetian sources. In the 14th century the frescoed church of Hosia Maria (St Mary of Egypt) was built: it is thought to have given its name to the village of Samaria and, by extension, the gorge itself. The gorge played an important part in the turbulent times of Turkish rule, with numerous stories and legends attached to it.
