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

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A river fed by mountain springs and snowmelt runs down the gorge, disappearing and reappearing at intervals, typical of limestone terrain. Ay. Roumeli depends on this water supply. A big black pipe, starting in the riverbed at the source of the largest spring, Kefalovrisi (just north of the Iron Gates) conveys this water down to the village storage tank. Temporary timber walkways are positioned at the many river crossings on the walk. For those who prefer to wade (bring sandals) the river is not fast-flowing by the time the gorge opens to the public.

Principal man-made features are the old village of Samaria halfway down – from which the population was resettled in the 1960s – and the old village of Ay. Roumeli, just outside the park boundary at the bottom. New Ay. Roumeli is 1km further on, right on the seashore. Other constructions in or near the gorge, apart from mule tracks, are chapels, ruined Turkish forts and water conduits to ruined sawmills or used for irrigation.

As this part of the south coast is free of roads, tour groups finish by being transferred from Ay. Roumeli to Hora Sfakion, or Souyia, by boat, where they are met by the same coaches that took them up to Xyloscala. It is a long round for the bus drivers and an even longer day for the tourists. This standard tour method of hurrying down the gorge, and then leaving it almost immediately, detracts from the experience and does not fully reward the effort involved. Walk outside the ‘rush hours’ and make a point of staying overnight in Ay. Roumeli if you can.