SAMARIA GORGE in Chania 43 km from the city of Chania, this is the longest gorge in Europe, measuring some 18 kilometers and well-known for its awesome beauty. At some points the passage is just 3 meters wide and at times the steep sides rise to a height of 600 meters. The gorge is cut by a stream which flows between the highest peak of the White Mountains and the mountain of Volikas. Hiking down the gorge is permitted from May to the end of October, depending on the weather. At the entrance to the gorge, at Xiloskalo there is a tourist pavilion with a view of majestic mountain of Gigolos (alt. 2,083 m.). On leaving the gorge, one encounters the village of Agia Roumeli, where one can take a launch to Chora Sfakion and catch a bus back to Chania. The road from Chania to the entrance of the gorge traverses picturesque lowland and mountain villages. At the village of Omalos and the Omalos mountain range one will find rooms for rent and a number of taverns

THERISOS GORGE in Chania An impressive gorge, 6 km. long, running between Chania and the village of Therissos at the foothills of the White Mountains. Perhaps the most attractive journey is the fourteen-kilometre drive up to therisso, hometown of Venizelos mother and one of the cradles of Cretan independence.Here in 1905 was held the Revolutionary Assemply (all baggy black shirts and drooping moustaches, as depicted in so many Cretan museums) that ousted Prince George and did much to precipitate union with Greece. The trip out to the little house, with its plaque commemorating the famous son, is an all but obligatory one for Cretans, and the village seems frequently to find itself crowded with busloads of battllng schoolkids. There's actually little to see apart from a traditional country village, but it's worth going anyway for the drive up Theriso gorge.In terms of spectacle this can't, of course, compare with Samaria and, in any case, the bed of the ravine is given over to the (mostly paved) road.But it is exceedingly pretty in the lower reaches, gentle and winding with the stream crossed and recrossed on rickety bridges, and surprisingly graggy towards the top where the walls are cracked and pocked with caves.

Imbros Gorge in Chania It is a small but very beautifull gorge visited each year by around 50.000 people, due to the ease with which you can cross it any time of the year especially when the gorge of Samaria is close. Its crossing starts from the Sfakian mountain village called Imbros, situated at an ltitude of 780m and a distance of 55km from Chania. The gorge is 8km long and its crossing takes about 2 hours. It has impressive gates or entrances i.e. narrow vertical rocky passes that like a tunnel , almost obstruct the view to the sky in the middle of the passage and the narrowest spot is only 2m wide. The gorge ends in the carriageway that connects Chora Sfakion westwards to the reputed fortress of Frangokastello on the beach of Frangokastello.

The road continues from Askifou along the valley to the village of Imbros, 57km on the Chania - Hora Sfakion road, where the less known Imbros Gorge begins at the plain of Imbros and winds to the sea near Chora Sfakion. The Kotsifou and Kourtaliotiko gorges are just a few kilometres apart near Plakias in Rethymno prefecture. Gorges Kourtaliotiko Faragi is 23km directly south of Rethimnon on the Rethimnon - Armeni - Kourtaliotiko Faragi road.

Villa Seli in Gerani Village, Chania