Written and compiled by Stelios Jackson

Special thanks to "Freelance holidays" for allowing me use of their wonderful photos. SJ

This icon will take you to George Petrakis' E4 walking pages to the respective areas within the Chania Nomos.

This icon will take you to Yannis Samatas' (webmaster of Explore Crete) "beaches of Chania" page

This icon will take you to my Interkriti pages, covering the walk across Crete, which I did in 2003. At the moment this is being serialised, so you may have to wait until the part covering the area that the icon is placed against, is written.

Click the clock to find current climatic conditions at  Souda bay (Chania)

My favourite of the four nomoi (districts) is Chania, with the white mountains, fantastic villages, diverse coastline and a beautiful eponymous capital, Chania has something for everybody. SJ

Accommodation can be found to this district on Interkriti's page here

This link will take you to Greek ferries domestic lines (currently due to open for business at the end of April

CHANIA

Essential Links to Chania

Picture courtesy of  Freelance Holidays

The links on this page are for the area of Chania, if you wish to see all the links to Crete, please click on the Cretan Links page icon   None of these links have been paid for in any way and if you wish to add yours please e-mail me Jackson

This page is designed to give a very short intro to the nomos of Chania, with a few links that may make your journey more enjoyable, it is not a definitive guide; we sell those, but I hope it helps.

Tony Fennymore runs guided tours of the city of Chania. I am not into guided tours, however,  I absolutely adored this one and would recommend it very highly to anybody visiting the beautiful Venetian city of Chania.. Click on the book, to go to Tony's site, which has more details, or if you'd like to buy the book, at £4.95, click here.   SJ

Aghia Marina   Aghia Marina is the last of the villages that have become one, stretching  out West from Chania itself, though if you carry on East you will see that this is continuing well beyond Aghia Marina and on to Meleme. A good site to Aghia Marina and Platanias can be found here

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Aghia Roumelli is (for most) the end of the long walk down the Samarian gorge. Actually quite a pretty village and it is possible to stay there overnight, though most people prefer to jump on a boat and set off to, Paleachora or Soughia going East, or more likely to Loutro or Chora Sphakion going West. The only ways of getting here are by boat from Soughia (East) or Loutro (West) or of course by walking down the Samarian gorge. A very nice site to this area can be found here

  This the stretch of the E4 from Aghia Roumelli to Loutro

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Aghia Theodora is an island pretty much opposite Meleme and was the place where the Ottomans first landed in 1645 before invading Crete. The endemic Agrimi or “Kri Kri” goat , a type of ibex,can be found here.

 Alikianos    The 14th century churches of Aghios Georgios and Aghios Ioannis can be found here.

Akrotiri is the peninsular West of Chania. The great Cretan statesman Eleftheros Venizelos is buried here 6KMs from Chania; The film “Zorba the Greek” starring Anthony Quinn was shot at Stavros on the tip of the Akrotiri; There are a couple of fantastic monasteries: Gouvernetou (founded on the site of an 11th c Church)  and Aghia Triadha (1643) (beware a of tsikoudhia -raki- offering priest at the latter of these monasteries, I was handed a half pint of the Cretan fire water at 8 in the morning by one, though this certainly woke me up); great beaches; Chania Airport and a military base (with exceptionally loud aircraft) can be found here too as well as the port of Souda bay. Accommodation in nearby Kalathas 9KMs from Chania (which is where I was based for 3 months in 1989) can be found here: Blue Apartments.

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

 Aptera is the ancient town situated above Souda bay.  The port here was "Minos", strangely enough given that it was a classical site and not Minoan.

  Askiphou Plateau is situated north of Chora Sphakion, close to the rather lovely gorge of Imbros The village of Ammoudari has accommodation and, depending on which way you are travelling, is the first village from Omalos or the setting off point to Omalos.

Picture courtesy of  Freelance Holidays

Chania  (Pop. c 60,000). Chania is approximately 8 miles West of the Airport. Furthest west of the Cretan nomoi is the city of Chania. The city of Chania itself is an extremely attractive one with its Venetian and Turkish architecture and the hustle and bustle of its pretty harbour front around which accommodation can be found above the myriad bars and restaurants. But beware; it can be difficult to find accommodation here in the high season. Chania was the capital of Crete from autonomous times  (liberation from the Turks in 1900) to 1972. A site worth visiting is that of Interkriti  to the city of Chania and environs Interkriti Chania and Environs  Accommodation: Click on the picture above to go to "Freelance Holidays" Chania page.

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Chora Sphakion is a small village on the south coast, with a thriving tourist industry. It relies on weary travellers having walked the Samarian or Imbros gorges disembarking and having a drink or a bite to eat. The buses back to Chania leave from here as do the coaches of the day trippers, but many choose to spend the night at one of Chora Sphakion’s many hotels.  An excellent site (among my top 3 favourites to the whole island of Crete), to this area can be found here: Sphakia.com and for walking see Sfakia Walks a unification of Jean's west Crete and Erno's Sphakia.com

For boats along the south coast go to Erno's timetable page.

Car hire can be arranged here 

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Chrysokalitissa Monastery is situated close to the beach of Elafonisi and those holier than I may see the steps leading up to the monastery turn gold. This icon is the stretch of the E4 between Chrisoskalitissa and Paleohora

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Elafonisi beach. Close to the church of Chrissoskalitissa is the sandy beach of Elafonisi. Very shallow waters mean that one can walk to a little island of sand around 100 yards out to sea, creating a lagoon environment. This beach while remote can get quite packed during high season as its fame spreads and whilst there on an extremely windy early May day in 2001, I would estimate that there were close to 1,000 people there already, though it is quite a large are and had no trouble accommodating this number, one wonders what it would be like in mid August. Answers on an e-mail to Jackson         Interkriti Kissamos area 

Part of the E4 walk from Kefali and onward to Paleohora

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

For boats along the south coast go to Erno's timetable page.

 Elos East of Kefali, Elos has a chestnut festival each year to herald the new crop every October, which is well worth visiting.

Falasarna is on the North West coast under the Peninsula of Gramvoussa and is an interesting place to visit especially for those geologist or archaeologists out there. The ancient port now lies inland due to the geology of the island. Interkriti's pages to this area can be found here: Interkriti Kissamos area 

  Part of the E4 walk

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Frankokastello is further East up the coast from Chora Sphakion and is steeped in history. The Venetian castle dates back to 1371, it was here that 8,000 Ottoman troops slaughtered 700 freedom fighters (OK, so they were terrorists in the Ottoman’s eyes!) and in late May it is believed that the ghosts of these Cretan heroes can be seen drifting around the castle. There is some element of truth in these stories, perhaps not in the ghostly sense but more in the atmospheric qualities that exist at that time of year.

Accommodation can be found here: Sunrise-Melissa and here Ledakis ...

...and here which has properties well worth looking at including a   windmill(!), which may be ideal for those with romance in their hearts Milos-Sfakia

   Frankocastello is on the coastal arm of the E4 walk

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Galatas 6KMs west of Chania, where a major commemoration is held each year to remember the battle of Crete, in 1941

Gavalachori   Monastery built on the site of an 11th century church and situated on the peak of the Akrotiri.

Gavdhos an island which can be reached from Paleochora is the most southerly point in Europe. A site on Gavdhos can be found here.

Picture courtesy of  Freelance Holidays

Georgioupolis  Named after Prince George of Greece  who ruled during Crete's autonomous period 1900-1913 (and not after "saint George" as in some guide books), you will find a fine beach here. The picture above links to Freelance holidays Georgoupolis page.. Interkriti's pages on this area can be found here: Interkriti Georgioupolis area  Other accommodation can be found here Amfimalla

A walking guide by Lance Chilton to Georgioupolis

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Gerani    A cave, which reaped findings of the Neolithic area pre 3,000 BC), can be found here, though it is inaccessible to the general public. I stayed here in 2005, and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and my accommodation, which can be found here:

Gramvousa Peninsular. North of Falassarna, this peninsular is roadless and all but inaccessible to those but the hardy few

Imbros Gorge  is well worth a walking, ending up as it does, at Chorio Sphakion 

Picture courtesy of  Freelance Holidays

Kalamaki   The best beach close to the city of Chania can be found here. Click on the picture to go to "Freelance Holidays" Kalamaki page.

Kalives   A nice place to stay, this busy town is situated East of the Akrotiri and close to Vamos and Kokkino Chorio

Kanados A village with great churches, which was constantly a thorn in the side of the Nazis.

Kastelli/Kissamos has its own port with connections to the island of Kythera in the Ionian/Saronic groups and on to the Peloponnese. A rather nice area with some great tours into the the foothills and peaks of the white mountains and along the coast to Falasarna and down to Elafonisi. I made a rather splendid barter here: six cans of Heinz baked beans for a bottle of Scotch; thanks Stu. Accommodation can be found here   Hotel Delfini and here Chrissany Hotel, thanks to Interkriti whose pages on Kissamos can be found here:  Interkriti Kissamos area

The end or beginning of the E4 walk

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

 Kavros    Interkriti's pages on this area can be found here: Interkriti Georgioupolis area

Kephali is one of the many pretty villages on the west side of the island up in those there hills and its inclusion here is as a result of my having spent a week there in May 2001. I travelled with “Freelance holidays” and can highly recommend the place for some peace, quiet and a touch of mountain air. The place must be absolutely splendid in the height (and heat) of the season. The church of Aghios Athanasios, with its 14th century wall painting is well worth visiting.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Kolymbari    North of the main road, on the Rodopou peninsular, Kolynbari has accommodation and tavernas.

Kourna (Lake) 38 KMs East of Chania The only lake on Crete and quite a site.

Kydonia is a fabulous olive oil available from branches of "Waitrose" and is also the ancient name for the city of Chania.

Lakki    DC Perkins' (Vasili, the Lion of Crete  - immortalised in Murray Elliott's book)grave can be found here. There is a film of this in the pipeline. Click the pic to see other World War 2 books.

Loutro is a lovely village on the south coast between Aghia Roumelli and Chora Sphakion. It can be reached by foot if you are intrepid and a good walker and also by boat from from either of those 2 places. In ancient times the harbour  here was known as Phoenix which was the port for the town of Anapolis. A webcam of Loutro can be found here. You will need to scroll down a little bit.

For boats along the south coast go to Erno's timetable page.

This is the stretch between Loutro and Frankocastello; Loutro is a great place to stay, regardless of how you get there, but there are no roads, so it's either on-hoof, or by boat, from Chora Sphakion or Aghia Roumelli; it's  a great place to stay. An option for accommodation here is Notos

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Meleme. Just West of Chania, at Maleme, there is a German war cemetery that can be quite a shock when first encountered. There are over 4,500 buried there and that it is well tended shows a magnificent magnanimity among the Cretans (see World War II).

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

 Meskla   A pretty village within walking distance of Theriso and its gorge, it was here that the "Kandeloneon" revolt started against the Venetians.

Minoa was the Classical port for Aptera on the Akrotiri.

Mournies    4KMs West of Chania there is a museum here to the great Cretan statesman, Eleftheros Venizelos as this was where he was born. The "Koukounara Villa with its famous "winged lion of St Mark", can be found here and is a fantastic example of Venetian art.

Omalos.  You are over 1000 metres (nearly 3,500 feet) up, when you start the Samarian gorge and it’s from here that it all starts (or finishes if you are walking up and not down).   One of a number of options for places to stay is the rather attractive Neos Omalos hotel.   If you decide to take the alpine E4 trail, this is the last chance of civilisation if you are travelling east. There is a hut at Kallergi about an hour and a half walk from here, then nothing until another hut at Katsavelli, a further 6 hour walk.

Picture of Paleochora courtesy of  Freelance Holidays

Palaeochora is becoming particularly popular and I can see why. Not dissimilar in many ways to Aghia Galini a hundred KMs  East of here, though on a smaller scale.  It’s a very pretty small town on the South coast with easy access to the White Mountains, the Samarian and other gorges and great beaches. There is of course the obligatory Venetian castle.  Picture courtesy of "Freelance Holidays" Other accommodation: Poseidon Hotel  Kalypso   Others can be found here  Interkriti Paleachora Area

For boats along the south coast go to Erno's timetable page.

From Elafonissi or from Soughia, depending on the direction you are travelling, this is the link to the Paleohora-Soughia stretch.

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Platanias    7 miles West of Chania, with an old village perched on a hill overlooking the modern sprawl below, this is a nice holiday destination. Freelance Holidays come here. A good site to Aghia Marina and Platanias can be found here I stayed at "Rebecca's house", booked through "freelance" in 1993 and had a splendid week there. A great site here

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Polyrrhenia is directly south of Kastelli/Kissamos and used to be the town served by the now lost port of Kissamos, a few kilometres north of here, in  Dorian   times. Sworn enemy of nearby Falassarna, an interesting inscription dated to 69BC, welcoming the Romans general Quintus Metullus, was found here, whilst the rest of Crete was busy trying to repel the Romans. The Romans eventually took control of Crete in 67BC. The Greek ministry of Culture's page on Polyrrhenia can be found here

Phalasarna (see Falasarna)

  SAMARIAN GORGE. The longest gorge (18km in length, though the walk is a "mere" 13 Kms+ a 3 KM walk to Aghia Roumelli) in Europe is to be found here. The gorge is 150 metres at its widest and 3 metres at its narrowest. Those fit enough can take a walk from the mountains at Omalos (the walk itself starts from Xyloskala 'wooden steps'), down to the south coast at Aghia Roumeli - some brave souls even venture up the other way - where you can take a boat to Chora Sphakion and from there get a bus which winds its way through the mountains and back to the North coast to Chania. This can be an unforgettable experience and should take 4-6 hours depending on your ambling speed. Due to the dangers of flash floods, the Samarian Gorge is closed between November and April. The Samarian gorge is normally open from the beginning of May to the end of October, but that is highly dependent on the weather. Do not be fooled by people who tell you this is a breeze of a walk; it is NOT. If you are young and fit and wear sensible footwear, you shouldn't have too many problems completing it, but take water and a sun hat as you will be totally exposed to the weather there. I failed miserably in attempt to walk the gorge both ways in the spring of 2001, getting up, just beyond the deserted village of Aghios Nikolaos, before I "had" to turn back to get catch the last boat back to Chora Sphakion, or if truth be told, before I collapsed in a heap. That walk, for those interested in doing similar, took a little over seven hours and for those fitter than I, add a couple of hours if you are attempting to clime the "Xyloskalos" or wooden steps as well. This is an excellent site to the Samarian Gorge. There is another great one on explorecrete.com here: Samarian Gorge. There is also a description of the walk in Loraine Wilson's "Crete the White Mountains, which I have reviewed for explorecrete and was permitted to copy the walk verbatum. Click on the pic to view that review and the Ms Wilson's detailed description of the walk.

Sfinari In between Katelli and Chrisoskalitissa on the E4 walk

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

A really nice site to Sfinari is Guy Waysman's Sfinari.itgo.com which can be found by clicking this rather alluring pic::

     Souda Bay is the main port for the nomos of Chania generally and the city of Chania, specifically. It is a beautiful bay, most of which is unfortunately inaccessible thanks to the presence of military bases. The picture is of Souda Bay and from Captain Spratt's "Travels and Researches in Crete" 1865. For those of you that have the awful Hackett reprint, this is what Souda should have looked like!

Soughia is a stepping stone between Aghia Roumelli and Palaeochora and I have failed to visit it in any of my visits to Crete so I shall say no more. Accommodation and useful information can be found here Interkriti Paleachora Area 

  For boats along the south coast go to Erno's timetable page.

  Most people will arrive at Soughia from Paleohora and then set off for Omalos or Aghia Roumelli. Whichever walk you take from Soughia, it is likely to be an extremely tough one, so take extra water. The icon is the link to Soughia to Aghia Roumelli.

A second option is to head up to Omalos via Koustogerako

...and a third, to Omalos, via the Aghia Irini gorge

On Yannis' explore Crete page of Chania beaches.

Is, or shall be, part of my walk, currently being serialised for "Interkriti"

Stalos   Freelance Holidays come here Freelance Holidays

Stavros  where the film 'Zorba the Greek' was filmed is on the tip of the Akrotiri peninsular and has a few tavernas, accommodation and a beach. "Zorba's mountain" towers above and is not as easy to climb as it looks from a distance!

Accomodation at 'Alexis' apartments in Stavros, and some very nice pictures of the area and   Cretan plant-life, can be found by clicking the pic

Theriso 16 Kms from Chania  has a lovely gorge, well worth visiting is the village of Meskla. Venizelos, called for Cretan "enosis" or union with Crete in 1905, something that would take a further 8 years to come to fruition.

Topolia  The church of Aghios Ioannis, is among the many churches worth visiting in this area and the tunnel here is short, but scary. During the early season there are just "warning lights" to indicate that you should be careful as there is only room for one car at a time in the tunnel, but nothing to stop oncoming traffic!

Vamos  Is a lovely village, though its "Greekness" has been diluted due to its proximity to the tourist town of Georgiopoulis, with a number of foreign owned properties.  Interkriti's pages on this area can be found here: Interkriti Georgioupolis area

Vryses Is a bit of a junction to everywhere and can get very busy, with traffic coming and going to Chora Sphakion to the south as well as Rethymnon to the East and Chania to the west. Despite that it is well worth a visit and has a monument to Cretan Independence.

The White Mountains (Lefki Ori) have their peak at Pachnes(Jean of west-crete.com runs treks up to Pachnes) which is 2453m high, all of 3 metres lower than Psiloritis (Mount Ida) to its East.   Be very careful whilst walking there unaccompanied as the paths can suddenly disappear and some of the drops can be scary to look at never mind to try to negotiate. Another great trek is up to the peak of Mount Gigilos. This is an excellent site to the White Mountains (when it is running).

                                ESSENTIAL LINKS to Chania

              All other Cretan links can be found here  

                       Climbing, mountaineering and walking Climbin'Crete and

                     The Greek Mountaineering Club of Chania

                             A Site for Chania and environs:   Chaniascape

Sphakian Site. This is among the best sites on Crete Sphakia.com as is...

                                       ...West-Crete.com   West-Crete.com

...and this is a very nice site too

Plus one for accommodation in the nomos of Chania:

And Finally some bookish things

Books on Crete

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