Hiking around village and gorges in Crete: Roundtrip Anopoli gorge: A hike including a visit to the village and the monastery of Anopoli. After our visit to the village we walk through the olive groves to a gorge. Via the gorge the hike goes along some geological spots with walls that have fossils within. In the area there are several geocaches to be found. You can find many geocaches on Crete! Along the coastline we walk back to Zorbas Island.
Anopoli hike
Equipment needed: Sturdy shoes or good sports shoes, a hat, possibly a walking stick, water, a small back pack.
Level Anopoli hike: Almost everybody can do this hike. We can even extend this hike, since the area has inexhaustible options. This hike is also suitable for the aged 50+ to 60+ walkers. This hike has possibilities of 10, 15 or 17 kilometres with height differences of 265 meters. GPS routes are also an option, but there are no direction signs, since we have set out this hike ourselves.
Description of the hike
Anopoli hike and gorge: The walk starts in the village Anopoli, going through nice narrow streets to see the real Greek way of living in the mountains. The village has 8 churches and a large monastery outside the village, kafenions and a small supermarket. In one of little streets there is a very old olive press. In the winter months it is possible to visit the olive factory and in autumn a factory where Raki is distilled. Just outside the village there is a football club “FC Anopoli” and small crafts factories like pottery, icon painting and glassblowing. After the village a visit to the monastery is definitely worthwhile.
Winding roads through olive groves will lead us to the gorge of Anopoli. When you continue the path you come to the little stream where you often see turtles. The more you walk on, the more you can see from the gorge. In the gorge you see pink granite, marble formations, quartz and sandstone rocks. Regularly you meet along the way the local shepherds. After the hike through the gorge you arrive at a geologic paradise: sandstone formations with many kinds of fossils. Walking along this wall you can make the most beautiful pictures. This is land, which was pushed up millions of year ago, with desert soil and that has been again millions of years, the bottom of the sea. This all will give you a good impression of the geology of Crete.
Fossils and flowers in the gorge
After the wall with the fossils are the oleander bushes. From spring till the end of July all you can see are the pink flowers. Here are at the end of the winter, beginning of the spring several species of orchids. Crete has 69 species of orchids. In the gorge of Anopoli we have spotted 14-15 different species of orchids. Here grow also many irises. After the gorge and the oleanders there are different ways to continue the walk. You can follow the road to the sea through the hilly landscape. There are many beehives in this area and with a bit of luck you can see the beekeepers working. A small path leads you to almond trees, hidden by the olive groves.
Kainourgio Chorio: Patitiria: These winepresses (patitiria), known as Patitiria Foskolou, also belonged to the Foskolos family. The building itself was unique for that time period, because of the roof it had. The Foskolos family had great influence in the area and therefore nobody else was allowed to build a winepress. Everybody had to bring their grapes there for pressing them. The owner of the grapes would get only a small percentage back of the grape must.
Gorge of the Holy Anastasia: In the gorge of the Holy Anastasia you can see many geological formations and oleander bushes. The church of St. Anastasia is built at the entrance of the gorge. From Kokkini Hani the hike is about 12 kilometres.
We hope to give you some impression of what to expect on the village tour on Crete Greece.
More information
Information about hiking on Crete: We offer options for individual walks or group hikes. Our hiking tours are suitable for everybody: from group hikes on Crete, individual hikes on Crete to aged 50+ walks on Crete. But even heavy hiking on Crete is an option. You can book all our walks and hikes in combination with accommodation on Crete.
Holidays on Crete: Apartment rental and accommodation on Crete. This is the right address for family apartments and holiday homes, excursions and cheap flights to Crete. There is a detailed overview of the latest holiday news from Crete including many pictures also about walking on Crete. Crete is the most southern holiday island of Europe.
In case you like more information, please send an email to zorbasisland@gmail.com