Exotic Flowers Experience – Paleochora, Crete gets you as close as you can be to the wonders of nature. The Greek Island of Crete is just as small as a village on a mountain. Quiet waves reach the shore under a cerulean sky, the hot temperature attracting people to the waters. During spring, flowers decorate Crete in a big range of beautiful colors, giving you a unique landscape.
Crete is situated in a narrow bay on the south-west coast. And Paleochora is the best place to start discovering the best sides of the island.
Activity/Place Highlights
Once you start walking through Crete’s trails, you will spot flowers like lilies or the rare orchids. The journey takes you to ruins of the once existent Greek civilizations, around desolated beaches, up small mountains with spots of green, and through Europe’s longest gorge. It’s definitely a once in a lifetime experience whatever your preferences are.
Crete is the southermost large island of Greece’s archipelago, isolated by the Mediterranean Sea. This isolation gifted the island with all the 170 wildflower species that now color the hills. New ones are discovered yearly, making this diverse family grow bigger.
Walk with the experts
Surely it’s a free option to walk alone around Crete’s trails. However, if you want to truly get to know the flowers found exclusively on this island, the best option is to take a walk with a local botanist. Some species are quickly dismissed when you walk by yourself; don’t let this happen! To avoid missing any flower, Freelance Holidays offer exclusive tours with botanist Jeff Collman.
Anidri village
There’s a recommended trail that takes you from Paleochora to the charming village of Anidri, just 5 km to north-east. The Byzantine church of Agios Georgios is worth visiting for an interesting journey through history. Its frescoes date back to the 13th century, and its stone walls are adorned with purple-colored Cretan wall lettuce.
A small church located in a hill above Adrini gives the best panoramic view to the Mediterranean Sea. Then, you walk along a track that goes down a narrow gorge. Around, bright pink oleanders catch all your attention, almost making you want to take them home. The next stop is at Gialiskari beach for a refreshing swim.
Sougia
If your desire is to take a longer but more famous path for an extended exploration, take the route from Sougia, located 17 km east. A brief ferry ride will take you to this lovely and hidden fishing village. This trail begins with a deep and quiet gorge, where you’re gonna find Turkish piles everywhere. Pay attention so you can spot the pastel-blue spiny chicory and the white capers, untouchable and up on the cliffs.
Source by Theophilos Papadopoulos on Flickr – Under Creative Commons license
Lissos
Halfway through the walk, you will discover the unknown and underrated settlement of Lissos. Lissos is rarely visited but, once upon a time, it was a lively place, until it all concluded in ruins. However, part of its artistry remains untouched, such as the mosaics in the temple to Asklepios. You can even explore its amphitheater, the churches of Panagia and Agios Kyriakos. Besides, a highlight on Lissos are the frightening tombs of a Roman necropolis that lived there centuries ago. The road to Paleochora leads back to the plateau as you see the coast line, the beach calling your name, tempting to the eye.
Gingilos
Gingilos is a pyramidal peak towering over the Samaria Gorge. On your way up to Gingilos’ top, the dark grey rocky passage and the beautiful rock arch you go through are one of a kind structures. Walk your way through funny zigzags to prevent yourself from falling, until you get to Linoseli col.
From here, a hike to the mountain is just one hour away. This experience will also give you the chance to see Crete’s classics, such as anchusas and Cretan tulips, which only grow at a certain altitude.
Source by Nicholas Turland on Flickr – Under Creative Commons license
Samaria Gorge
The Samaria National Park is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and offers a walk through the Samaria Gorge. During spring it gets so full of wild flowers that the walk goes from being great, to being excellent. It starts at 1300 meters and then drops down 1000 meters across a pine forset. Here, you can spot peonies and white asphodels along the spaces left between tiny churches, and decorating the ruins of old villages.
Agia Roumeli beach
After a tiring day of just walking and exploring, the beach at Agia Roumeli waits for you. Trekking boots are thrown on the sand and laughter fills the air. You never thought discovering flowers and connecting with nature would be such a delightful experience.
How to get there
Most international flights transit through Athens. ere, you have to take a scheduled domestic flight to Chania or Heraklion. These flights take off around 7 times a day to Chania or Heraklion. However, there are more flights to Heraklion (130 km from Paleochora) than to Chania (40 km from Paleochora).
There are a number of Charter flights from Europe specifically between April and October. Then again, there are also more flights to Heraklion than to Chania. For this reason, flights to Heraklion are often cheaper and not as heavily booked as flights to Chania.
At the same time, Chania airport has recently become a hub airport for Ryan Air, which added a lot of new destinations.
When to go
Temperatures can reach very high, even during early spring. On Crete’s mountains, there aren’t many places to catch shade or find water. Tourists crowd at Samaria Gorge, especially during the summer months.
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