The Iron Gates
Three metres wide between walls three hundred metres high.
Kurnosem — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ιωάννα Κουργιαντάκη — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ιωάννα Κουργιαντάκη — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Sebastian Mierzwa — CC BY-SA 4.0
**One of the longest gorges in Europe** and the best-known walk in Greece: some **sixteen kilometres** descending from the Omalos plateau at 1,230 metres in the **White Mountains** to emerge at the Libyan Sea in the village of **Agia Roumeli**. It has been a **national park** since 1962 and is a UNESCO biosphere reserve, home to the **kri-kri** — the wild Cretan goat, found nowhere else in the world. The walk is all **downhill**, but that does not make it easy: it begins with a steep stairway dropping 600 metres in the first two hours, and the rest is a long walk over **stones and a dry riverbed** that punishes feet and knees more than climbing would. Its best-known point is the **Iron Gates** (Sideroportes): a stretch where the gorge narrows to about **three metres** between walls rising **three hundred metres** above you. ⚠ There is no road: whoever enters **must finish** at Agia Roumeli, and from there **only by ferry** to Sougia or Chora Sfakion and then a bus.
Three metres wide between walls three hundred metres high.
The wild Cretan goat, found nowhere else.
Emptied when the park was created, its church midway.
Samaria National Park, Sfakia, Crete
This is **the key question at Samaria**, and what most often ruins the trip. The route is **one-way** with no road at any point — you **do not return the way you came**. The sequence: a **very early bus** from Chania (around five or six in the morning) to **Omalos**, where the entrance is; then 5–7 hours walking down; then from **Agia Roumeli** — a village **with no road to it** — a **ferry** to Chora Sfakion or Sougia; then a **bus** from there back to Chania, arriving in the evening. ⚠ **The last ferry governs everything** — know its time before you start, and don't dawdle in the gorge. The simplest solution is an **organised tour** that handles all the transport.
It needs **reasonable fitness and patience**, not mountain experience. The route requires no climbing and no equipment, and is **downhill** throughout — but that is the trap: six hours of continuous descent over **stones and a dry riverbed** punishes knees and feet more than climbing would, and many people finish limping. ⚠ **Closed, broken-in walking shoes** are essential — no sandals and no new boots. **A walking pole** helps considerably. ⚠ **Not suitable for**: young children, anyone with knee or back trouble, or anyone who doesn't normally walk. For an easier alternative: the **Imbros Gorge** near Chora Sfakion — about 8 km and far gentler.