Tuesday 18 April 2017

Walking the Agiofarago Gorge, Crete


If your hire car is up to it, you can drive a very rough road south from the Odigitria Monastery towards the coast. When you have had enough of weaving around the potholes, park up and walk through the Agiofarago Gorge down towards the beach. Following the valley floor, the meandering footpath is flanked by steep orange rock faces pock-marked with caves. You can scramble up into some of these caverns and survey the valley floor below. As you walk, you'll hear the bleating of goats perched precipitously on the crags around and above you.  In April, the patchy stream at your feet will be alive with tadpoles. On the approach to the pebbly beach, you'll come across elderly olive trees and a battered cream church, roofed in red.  After soaking up some sun or taking a dip, you can retrace your steps. This is a memorable and fun walk, which should take you a couple of hours or so. 8/10