Walking along the gorge takes 6 to 8 hours and even though the
path is down slope, visitors must have tough and convenient shoes and some
physical strength.
The gorge begins at Xyloskalo, which taken by its Greek
name, means a wooden stairs leading down to a faster descent. The path
then follows a riverbed along a beautiful forest with tall trees and
magnificent view. In the middle of the gorge, there is a deserted village
called "Samaria".
There, a Byzantine church of the 14th century is
found, devoted to Sacred Mary of Egypt. She gave the name in the area,
since the word "Samaria" is a synergetic of the Greek phrase "Osia Maria"
(Sacred Mary). The church has some interesting wall paintings and it can be
reached in the south part of the village from a path that begins at the
helipad.
One of the most beautiful parts of the route are the "Sideroportes"
(iron gates), where the two sides of the gorge have a distance of 3 meters in
between and a height of 600 meters.
At the exit of the gorge there is the village of Agia Roumeli.
You can spend the night there or take a boat to the villages of Loutro, Hora
Sfakion, Sougia or Paleohora. From Hora Sfakion, Sougia and Paleohora you can
take the bus back to Chania.
The gorge of Samaria is the longest in Europe with total
length of 18 kilometers. The width of the gorge ranges from 150 meters at
the widest point down to 3 meters at the narrowest. The gorge of Samaria
has been proclaimed a national park in order to protect the rare flora and
fauna. 
