Access
The red-roofed Kallergi Refuge, perched high on the northwest rim of the Samaria Gorge, was built in 1971 and later leased to mountain guide Joseph Schwemburger, who ran it as an Alpine-style catering enterprise for many years. Attracting walking groups and individual trekkers, it is now managed by the Greek Mountaineering Association (Mountain Club of Chania), its facilities and purpose remaining the same. It is open to passers-by from April to October (and at weekends in winter). For reservations (2015) tel: 6976 585849 but visit the Kallergi website for latest information. Facilities include full board and private bunkroom, or a roof-space dormitory. Bottled water, refreshments and meals are available to passers-by. This is a popular base for the ascents of Melendaou and Gingilos, requiring a two- or three-night stay, and is also a stopping point on the trekking route to Katsiveli and beyond (Trek 6). A shepherds’ road (not for taxis) serves the refuge before continuing on to Poria under the northern flank of Melendaou.
E4 Trail: looking down the great scree slope. The road to Kallergi refuge is seen on the opposite hillside
Leave Xyloscala on the east side via the footpath signboard, which reads 1hr 20mins to Kallergi. Within 40mins join the shepherds’ road from the plateau and continue up on this – optional shortcuts occasionally appear. A small stone-built corbelled shepherds’ shelter with a World War II memorial plaque marks the top. Kallergi is in sight, 5mins away. (Keep right – sometimes thick mist envelops the clifftop.)
WALK 5
Kallergi Refuge to Melendaou
| Start/Finish | Kallergi Refuge 1680m (5511ft) |
| Distance | 16km (10 miles) |
| Grade | C |
| Time | Kallergi to Poria 1500m (4921ft) 50mins; Poria to top of ridge at Psari 1817m (5902ft) 1hr 10mins; ridge walk to Melendaou saddle 1900m (6233ft) 1hr; saddle to summit 1hr 15mins; ascent total: 4hrs 15mins; descent: summit to Kallergi 2hrs 30mins via E4 Trail; total: 6hrs 45mins |
| Highest point | Melendaou 2133m (6998ft) |
| Height gain | 483m (1583ft) |
| Access | Walk 4 from Xyloscala, or shepherds’ road from Omalos |
Using Kallergi Refuge as a convenient starting point, Melendaou 2133m (6998ft) – towering to the northeast above the Samaria Gorge – can be reached as a day-walk, allowing non-backpackers a chance of views towards the heart of the range. As it is on the regular schedule of walking groups staying at Kallergi, this route is well-tramped and partly waymarked. Kallergi is 50mins’ walk, on the shepherds’ road, to the base of the long ridge leading up to Melendaou. For a circular walk, approach the peak from along the top of this ridge and then return to Kallergi by dropping down (on the waymarked E4 Trail) to the shepherds’ road alongside it.
From Kallergi walk east (take a shortcut path down from the refuge at first) on the shepherds’ road to Poria, a bracken-filled meadow at the foot of the long ridge. On the right, note a Samaria Gorge wardens’ hut and also a shepherds’ old stone hut restored by the EOS as an unlocked shelter. Head straight for the steep hillside in front of you, southeast, where waymarks guide you up splintered footpaths to a small peak, Psari, at the ridgetop.
Now overlooking the gorge and almost level with Melendaou’s huge stratified cliff, start along one of the best ridge walks in Crete. This takes in (or bypasses, to choice) one or two ridgetop peaks. After about 50mins arrive at a saddle below the steep ascent ridge (E4 Trail) leading to Melendaou summit. As you climb, look out for red paint waymarks that direct you off the E4 Trail to the summit. The E4 Trail, once it is beyond the stratified cliff, turns east for Potamos and Katsiveli (Trek 6).
The return route to Kallergi (E4 Trail poles) descends from this saddle, via a northwesterly traverse followed by a steep path down to the shepherds’ road.
From the summit (where there is a trig point), Kaloros 1925m (6315ft) obscures the view down to Chania. A section of the Trek 1 route is in sight, on the way up to Kolokithas. The Potamos Valley (Trek 5) is 140°SE, with the Pachnes massif and Zaranokefala beyond it. Modaki 2224m (7297ft), one of several cone-shaped peaks of the Madares, rises above Katsiveli.
WALK 6
Xyloscala to Koustoyerako via Strifomadi
| Start | Xyloscala 1240m (4068ft) |
| Finish | Koustoyerako 500m (1640ft) |
| Distance | 14km (8¾ miles) |
| Grade | D |
| Time | Xyloscala to goat paths turn-off 1500m (4921ft) 1hr; to Strifomadi summit 1hr 50mins; summit to Achlada Valley 1600m (5249ft) 1hr; Achlada to Olisma 1000m (3280ft) 1hr 50mins; to Koustoyerako 1hr; total: 7hrs 10mins. For Koustoyerako down to Souyia on foot add 2hrs |
| Highest point | Summit of Strifomadi 1921m (6302ft) |
| Height gain | 681m (2234ft) |
| Height loss | 1421m (4662ft) |
| Access | KTEL Omalos bus or taxi from Chania |
| Access to finish | Taxi from Souyia |
| Note | For those equipped to camp, this is a pleasant two-day route. |
This is a spectacular mountain route from the Omalos Plain to Koustoyerako and Souyia. Branching off from the Gingilos footpath, it takes in Strifomadi summit before making a long descent to the southwest over hillsides high above the Tripiti Gorge. More centrally placed and just as accessible as Gingilos, Strifomadi offers a better all-round view, but the steep summit approach makes this a walk rarely tackled by organised groups. This walk suits May–November, if the snowdrift under Strifomadi summit is passable. Take daysack essentials and a minimum of two litres of water per person.
Alternatively, a section of the E4 Trail from Gingilos saddle bypasses the summit route, on a shortcut that may appeal to experienced mountain walkers with a good head for heights, and if the weather is settled. As much of this E4 shortcut is loose underfoot it is easiest to walk it from east to west, as it is then mainly uphill. However, since heavy deluges seem now to be commonplace, natural erosion may at any time wreck some part of this small footpath.
Follow Walk 3 to the goat paths turn-off before the pinnacles.
For Strifomadi summit
Ascend the ridge. A spindly iron fence borders the top edge of the cliff on the mountainside below the summit. The footpath ascends near the fence until, after gaining most of the height, it traverses right to finish the climb on an easier gradient. If snowdrifts linger, the fence is a useful safety guide. The summit is the highest point above the huge cliff at the head of the Tripiti Gorge.
For the E4 Trail (6A)
For the E4 Trail (6A), which crosses this huge cliff well below the summit, continue up to Gingilos saddle (Walk 3). This section of the E4 is a shepherds’ or hunters’ route across steep crags and scree. It is waymarked with paint and E4 poles. It is not suitable for those who suffer from vertigo, or who are encumbered with heavy packs, or if the weather