Casa di Mare apartments Paths & Trekking
in Kouremenos. Itanos, Palekastro,
Lassithi East Crete.
PATHS AND
TREKKING
The Municipality of Itanoshas put forth, through its Municipal
Enterprise, a comprehensive alternative vacation proposal, with emphasis
on the natural and cultural wealth of the area, promoting activities
such as free climbing, trekking, cave exploration, bird watching and
various activities, whose aim is to familiarize visitors with nature and
culture in the area. Furthermore, it maintains a large network of
trekking and mountain climbing/trekking paths which includes 10 routes
such as the gorge at Chochlakies, the gorge Zakros-Xerokambos, the gorge
Karidi-Adravastoi-Kellaria, all of which exceptionally interesting for
their fauna and peculiar geological formations. In the area there are
2100 self sown plants, 300 of which endemic, which include medicinal
herbs and wild flowers. The area is also the habitat of rare birds and
animals. Here you will find the largest colony of “Eleonora’s Falcon”,
as well as numerous places with a mixture of Afro-European flora and
fauna (Vai, Koufonisi).
KATO ZAKROS
The gorges and trekking routes in the area each have their special
traits and beauties.
The first gorge that you can easily walk through is the famous gorge of
Kato Zakros, also known as “Gorge of the Dead”. Its name derives from
the Minoan tombs found on its vertical slopes, inside caves. The path
upwards toward Zakros will take you a couple of hours to walk,
underneath trees and sheer cliffs, among wild herbs, overwhelming smells
and sounds that shall linger in your memory long after you’ve left the
place.
CHOCHLAKIES
The trekking route starting at Choclakies will take you about two hours
to go and another two to return. The gorge follows a turn to the left,
along sheer cliffs. You are mostly moving on the river bank (it is
inaccessible in winter), and in spring you should be prepared to climb
some rocks, to overcome the water ponds on the way. At the end of the
route you will be rewarded with the view of Karoumes beach, solitary and
beautiful, with trees that offer their shade freely for you to rest.
You can also make a start from the village of Agahtias and the route is
the following: Palaikastro – Agathias – Platyvola Plateau – Skinias
beach – Karoumes beach – Karoumes gorge – Choclakies – Palaikastro. You
will need about four hours to complete this second route.
ZAKROS-XEROKAMBOS
The gorge Zakros-Xerokambos is rather small but impressive and you can
find it at about 1 km north of the beaches at Xerokambos. The first
kilometer is not particularly difficult. Later it breaks off in two
directions: while the path on the left stops after a few meters, the
right hand side continues for another 1,5 km. In this part access is
problematic, because there is no clear path, whith the rocks and shrubs
making it difficult to proceed. The gorge ends almost midway between
Zakros and Xerokambos.
KARIDI-ADRAVASTOI-KELLARIA
The gorge following the route Karidi-Adravastoi-Kellaria is one of the
less well-known gorges in the area. You will find its exit 1 km north of
Adravastoi or 3 km from Zakros. You can cross it by starting either at
Karidi or at the Magassa settlement. The gorge is not very deep.
Initially, the mountains create basins, which turn out to be a beautiful
but really hard route, since there is no path; you must be really
experienced and fit to cross it. The harshness of the landscape combined
with the wild beauty of the rocks create impressive formations and
images you will never forget.
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