Excursions from Hora Sfakion
There are boat excursions from the harbour of Sfakia to the surrounding beaches like Loutro, Agia Roumeli, Sougia, Paliohora and the small island of Gavdos. These lines are served from a small Sfakian maritime company.
On a typical tour the visitor would leave Sfakia at about 10 in the morning and after a tour of the beaches would return back to the town in the late afternoon (6-7 p.m.).
|
| Between Hora Sfakion and Loutro, there is the magnificent beach of Glika Nera (meaning sweet water , because drinkable water springs out from the sand, right by the seaside).
|
The beach of Glika Nera |
The visit to Agia Roumeli, were the Samaria Gorge exits can be combined with a visit to the gorge. This walk is called "the lazy way" and it is a reversed route to the gorge, almost halfway through it , up to the abandoned village of Samaria. The visitor can enjoy the beauty of the gorge without crossing it.
Loutro is to the west of Hora Sfakion on an enchanting inlet, an incredible sight on this wild coast with its sheer mourntains rearing up from the sea, almost as if the mountain had opened out into a bay in order to hold the sea in its embrace. |
On the east of Hora Sfakion are some of the most beautiful and unspoiled beaches in Crete.
One of the beautiful beaches, is the beach of Filaki, where there are some touristic facilities.
Also on the east, at about one km from Hora Sfakion is another beautiful pebble beach that is protected in a small inlet, the beach of Illigas
The beach of Filaki
|
The beach of Illigas
|
An enjoyable mountainous excursion is to the Sfakian village of Anopolis located on a 600m altitude .
The village is built within a mountainous landscape of outstanding wild beauty. In the village there are rooms for rent and a tavern.
The village is worth visiting not only for its natural beauty but also for the opportunity to explore the White Mountains.
One of the best hikes is to descent to the shore through the ravine of Aradena, a five hour walk through an imposing ravine that ends up to the wonderful beach of Marmara.
The ravine of Aradena is one of the most imposing in Crete. It expands from the mountain-peak Kedrokefala to the inlet of Foinikas. Its length is 7 km and its sides are steep with height that many times surpases the 100 m. Its crossing is a unique experience. The village of Aradena is deserted. The locals narrate that the village was destroyed due to a venteta, a custom that survives even today in Sfakia.
Above Sfakia there are four gorges of unique beauty: Imbros, Kapnis, Asfendou, Kalikratis.
The ravine of Kalikratis is 1 km long, begins from the village of Patsianos and ends in the village Kalikratis.
The Sfakian village of Asfendou is located in a small and fertile plateau, 8 km from Imbros, in an altitude of 770 m.
It has approximately 40 houses and it is inhabited mainly during the summer. In the south of the village, in a small cave, frescoes on the rock have been brought to light, depicting hunting scenes and wild animals. From here through the beautiful ravine of Asfendou the visitor can reach the Sfakian village of Vouvas within a 2 hours walk.
|
|
