Читать книгу The High Mountains of Crete. The White Mountains, Psiloritis and Lassithi Mountains онлайн

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The island is busy: there are three main towns – Chania, Heraklion and Rethymnon – with both fashionable and traditional-style shops, together with harbours, markets, universities and museums. It is easy to get to Crete by air or by sea from Athens or by direct charter flight to Chania or Heraklion airports. Happily for walkers, ‘getting to the trailhead’ is also easy using KTEL (the public bus service) or local taxis.

Describing walks and treks in the main mountain ranges of west, central and eastern Crete, including the south coast of Sfakia in the west, this guidebook aims to provide you with the information you need to follow the routes of your choice.

Hillwalking and trekking regions

The walks and mountain treks suggested in this guide are grouped under three main headings. In the west, the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) (Part 1) cover 960km2, and include over 20 peaks rising above 2000m (6560ft); Pachnes (2453m/8047ft) is the highest. There are five good walking areas – the Omalos Plain, the Northern Foothills, the Askifou Plain, Anopolis and the south coast of Sfakia – all with trailheads served by bus from Chania. Since many of the best walking routes are linear, a hired car can be limiting especially as much of the rugged south coast, having no roads, is only served by boat. Fortunately, villages on many of the walking routes offer plentiful accommodation, not all of which is pre-booked, enabling a flexible itinerary. Town bus stations have Left Luggage facilities, useful for those who wish to travel without a particular base.