The Samaria Gorge is the 3rd longest gorge in the world. Beginning at an altitude of 1200m in the south of the Greek Island, Crete, this hiking trail extends downwards through what are called the White Mountains - stemming fom the Omalos plateau. The 16km hike ends in the sea village, Agia Roumeli, on the Libyan Sea.
This is an incredibly variant hike - there are many rocky areas, then there were also wooden stairs comprised of cypress trunks.
The Samaria Gorge is a both a realistic and mythical part of the long history of Crete (which might be the longest of all human societies; e.g., 7000 BCE). Ancient mountain settlements used to make up different focal points in the mountainous south; then later, the island was controlled by the Roman Empire, then the Venetian Empire and after that, the Ottoman Empire (the Nazi's even had their own control over the island during WWII). Crete’s gorges may well have helped preserve the island's identity as they made many villages and the interior hard to conquer.
Minoan Crete was arguably the most significant era of the island's history. This prehistoric Mediterranean civilization (900 to 1100 BCE) had administrative and economic institutions. It featured probably the most advanced architecture and maritime networks in the world. The myth of an infant, Zeus, being hidden in a Cretan cave and being guarded by the Kouretes exemplifies how Cretan mountains were imagined as protective and holy.
The name Samaria does does not have biblical roots, but there used to be a village (now abandoned) inside the gorge called Samaria. Its church was that of Óssia María - the Church of Saint Mary of Egypt. Saint Maria of Egypt was arguably the biggest exemplar of ascetic and penitential imagination of Eastern Christianity. Maria led (then left) a very sinful life - plagued by fornicatory enslavement. She repented before an icon of the Theotokos in Jerusalem then crossed the Jordan river and lived for decades in the wilderness before being discovered by a monk named Zosimas. She still, today, is a model for repentance and fasting - both of which are necessary for spiritual transformation.
Now approaching deeper into the gorge:
Even on a hot summer day in early July, the hiking trail was full of tourists - from all around the world. There were many natural water springs, about every 3km, you could fill up your water bottle (with what tasted like the best water in the world):
Now to the narrowest part of the gorge:
Subsequently, there are only a few km left until the sea - the terrain changes, the sun shines down hard, and the temperature is about 5c hotter than when inside the gorge.
The fascinating intersection between ancient myth and geographic terrain is something that is underappreciated when it comes to the Samaria Gorge (it is commonly described as being an "amazing" and picturesque hiking trail - terms that are, unfortunately, as shallow as they are descriptive), but the gorge has meant so much more, historically, for generations of natives of Crete. For example, Minos was the son of Zeus. After death, Minos functioned as one of judges of the dead in the underworld. The Minotaur myth began when Minos asked Poseidon to send him a bull as proof of divine favor. The creature was confined in a cave-like Labyrinth.
Arriving at the south of the island, in a village that is only accessible via boat (or the 16km gorge hike)
The water was rougher (and a bit colder) than in the north of the island - making a swim after the hike feel better than pretty much anything else at that moment. Subsequently, a ferry took all hikers to a different village (with road connections), and a bus drove everyone home.
The hike itself is manageable and actually very enjoyable - the day of travel to get there (and back) made the overall experience too stretched out. It would be better to get dropped off at the hike's beginning marker, do the hike, then spend a night in the sea village, and hike back up the following day.
