Listed 4 sub titles with search on: Sights for destination: "OMALOS Plateau CHANIA".
At 1,080 metres in altitude, the plateau of Omalos is one of the three highest large plateaus of Crete. The plateau of Nida in Psiloritis is at 1,400 metres and Niatos, above Askifou, is 1,500 metres high. The plateau has three exits. The first one is the road from Chania. The entrance to the plateau (1,087m) on this road is called the Neratzoporta --The Orange Door. The second exit is the Samaria Gorge, which ends at Agia Roumeli. The third exit is in the southwest corner of the plateau. The road from here reaches Sougia through wild and captivating scenery. The plateau is surrounded by the peaks of the Lefka Ori: Volakias (2,116m); Gigilos, in front of Xiloskalo (2,081m); Samberos (2,005m), on the west side of the Samaria Gorge; and Psilafi (1,984m). The plateau is roughly triangular in shape and each side is about an hour's walk. During the winter months, snow may cover Omalos and the road may be closed for several days. The Omalos Plateau is green except in midsummer and is covered by wild flowers in the spring. The physical beauty of the area is as exhilarating as the mountain air and the plateau is a marvellous area for mountain hiking or walks. On the plateau there are tavernas and hotels, some of which are equipped for winter stays.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
At the beginning of the plateau proper, on an eastern hill, there is the house and grave of Hatzi Michalis Yannaris, a famous revolutionary of the 1866 Rebellion. The chapel of Agios Pandeleimonas beside the house was built by him in thanks for his release from prison.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from the Crete TOURnet URL below, which contains images.
It is one of the most remarkable gorges of Sfakia where a few couples
of wild goats still live (the seldom Cretan Chamois).
Its passage starts from the village of Agios
Ioannis in Sfakia (at an altitude of 780 m and a distance of 92 km from Chania).
You need around 1 hour in order to reach the location of Kormokopos, where there
are caves with water, before starting descending the gorge (up to that point,
you need a guide). The gorge ends in the very beautiful piny sand beach of the
Libyan Sea, after another
2 hours' walk. From the beach to Agia
Roumeli, you have to walk one more hour. The above crossing covers half the
gorge. If you wish to cross all of Elygia, you need an experienced guide and at
least 2 days at you disposal. You start from the plateau of Omalos and walk via
the refuge of Kallergi and the summit of Melinataou (at an altitude of 2133 m)
before reaching the location "Potamos" in the White
Mountains. After a vertical descent of 10 m you reach the bottom of the gorge
and walk on up to the coast of the Libyan Sea.
The Omalos-Potami trek takes 6 hours and another 6 hours from there
to the coast.
This text is cited April 2003 from the Prefectural
Committee for Tourism Promotion of Chania pamphlet.
This gorge is one of the biggest and most difficult of access in Chania,
which requires a guide to be crossed, and at least one and a half days available.
The first afternoon you can climb up (via the plateau of Omalos at an altitude
of 1200 m) the mountain of Grigkilos, very precipitous mountain with alpine configuration.
You pass under a natural arch at an altitude of 1400 m from the frozen water source
of Linoseli. In order to approach the summit, where you spend the night outdoors
or in the ruined sheepfold of Tzatzimou, you need to walk for 2,30 hours at an
altitude of 2080 m.
The myth says that it is on this summit that Cratagenous Jupiter had
his throne, and westwards, on the nearby more regular peaks, he had his harness
racing. At the source of Linoseli there was a famous ancient oracle as well.
From Gigilo up to the coast, you have to walk for about six hours.
If there is no boat waiting for you there, you will walk for another three hours
(right-and upward from the old village), before reaching the very beautiful littoral
village of Sougia in Selino
(70 km distant from Chania)
There is a wide diversity of fauna and flora species in the gorge,
which is the dwelling place of the Cretan Chamois as well.
You will find a cistern, a goat sheepfold and the chapel of Saint
Nicholas there also.
This text is cited April 2003 from the Prefectural
Committee for Tourism Promotion of Chania pamphlet.
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