Sitia

From the beach, north of the coastal settlement of Kato Zakros (1), we follow the path that leads to a rocky plateau, after which we cross a stream. Then, we continue parallel to the coast, in a relatively clear path, which climbs up towards the entrance of the Pelekita cave (2), with a characteristic fig tree at the entrance.

From the cave, the path which becomes hard to discern, descends for about 500 m, to the ancient quarry (3).

Following the marks, we pass through the old, upper area of the village of Zakros (1); we then reach the central square, and immediately after the village church courtyard.

We next follow the narrow cement road eastwards; it goes downhill through a sparsely-built area, until a little bridge over a streamlet.

We continue straight on the dirt road, which goes along the western bank of a water course, until the first turn-off on our left, which we follow. A small valley with farmhouses can be seen on our left-hand side.

Setting off at Skalia (1) in a northerly direction, the footpath leads us down to a little dry valley, which we follow; having walked through a narrow rocky passage, we arrive at a small plateau (2) with a dirt road running through it.

At the north-eastern side of the plateau, an abandoned single-storey building can be seen. Just after passing through a boundary fence which we come upon at the eastern edge of the plateau, we leave the dirt road, and turn left onto a path; this crosses a small saddle (3) and then begins to go down the northern side of a low summit.

At the north-eastern side of Ziros there is the beginning of an old footpath (1), which initially runs along the left bank of a dry water course and then meanders on a slope; next, it crosses to the southern side of the water course and climbs up to a bare flat area with sparse prickly bushes.

A few metres beyond, having crossed a dirt road (2) , we reach a makeshift boundary fence with a gate, through which we pass and continue straight on, rather north-eastwards. (Gates should be left as you find them.)

We pass through Papagiannades (1), a village built on a steep slope, and then climb up eastwards to the mountain line, where we reach a water cistern (2).

We then cross the asphalt road and follow the dirt road that leads us eastwards.

After 500 m, we come upon a fork (3) and turn slightly south-eastwards. After 1.000 m, we reach the mountain line (4) where one of the first wind farms of Crete can be seen.

From there, the view towards the plateau of Handras opens up to the east.

We walk along the narrow alleys of Dafni (1) and descend to the eastern exit of the village; once there, we take a left-hand, downhill dirt road, which passes through olive groves on the slope and meanders until a crossroads (2), near a water course with plane trees.

At the crossroads, we take the left branch which leads us down to the water course; we cross onto its northern bank, where we reach another dirt road (3), which we follow to the right.

We walk along the narrow, picturesque alleys of the village of Pefki (1) and follow the asphalt road south-west of the village for approximately 250 m. We then turn left into a rough dirt road (2), which passes through an olive grove and then leads us to a footpath which passes next to an old watermill (3).

The unsurfaced road runs along the edge of the western wall of the gorge of Pefki for approximately 500 m; next it turns right and descends to the bed of the gorge (4), which features exceptionally beautiful formations and dense vegetation.

We set off at the Dafni village square (1) in a southerly direction. We pass next to the cemetery and take a dirt road that goes left (eastwards), parallel to a steep slope.

Approximately 900 m after the village, at the end of the steep slope, we leave the dirt road and take a vague path (2), in a rather south-easterly direction. After approximately 700 m, we come upon another unsurfaced road (3), which we follow southwards.

From the Orino village square (1), we follow the asphalt road eastwards for 1 km, to a saddle; once there, we turn left into a dirt road (2), which we follow for approximately 1.200 m, and then come upon a left side road (3). At this point, right (east) of the main dirt road we distinguish an old, vague footpath, which we follow.

Within a few metres on the path we come upon an electricity pole; having passed through a small flat area, approximately 20 minutes down the path, we reach a scree area which we cross through. Remnants of an old boundary fence can be seen on our right.

We walk northwards, on the road that passes through the clusters of houses, from the central area (1) of the Thripti settlement; after 600 m, at its northernmost point, on the right-hand side of a characteristic evergreen oak (2), we go down a few steps that lead us to a dirt road, which we follow for approximately 400 m. We continue straight northwards, just where the dirt roads cross (3).