At the foothills of the White Mountains, the province of Sfakia is home to one of the most famous gorges in Europe, the imposing Gorge of Samaria. The trail is crossed by thousands of visitors every summer. It starts from the plateau of Omalos, descends through a magical dense forest of cypresses and pine trees, passes between very narrow passages with vertical walls of a height of up to 500m, before reaching the seaside village of Agia Roumeli. Other well-known hiking canyons of the region are the gorge of Imbros gorge that starts near the plateau Askyfou, the wild canyon of Aradena, the lush green Sfakiano Gorge, the Gorge Kallikratis, the rugged canyon of Tripiti and the famous gorge of Agia Irini which ends at the beach of Sougia. Some green hiking canyons are located at the region of Zourva and Karanou, while West Crete also hosts the impressive gorges of Diktamos, Lissos, Topolia, Asfendou, Kambos, Sirikari, Sassalos and more.
The small but impressive gorge of Anydri is located east of Paleochora. It starts from the village Anidri and after a snaky course, about 3km long, between high cliffs it concludes at the beautiful beach Gialiskari.
Through the gorge of Lissos passes the trail that connects Sougia to Ancient Lissos. It's a long canyon with imposing towering walls, but the path that leads to ancient Lissos covers only a small part of the route, taking only about 1 hour.
Gorge Klados is one of the most dangerous and inaccessible gorges of Crete. The top (starting point) of the canyon is located at position Kokkinovari in a steep slope, 90-100 meters high. The very loose and steep terrain makes access impossible even with technical equipment.
On the way to Elafonisi from the road running along the west coast of Crete, there is the beautiful village of Cambos belonging to Kissamos province. From there a short dirt road heads to the west which heads to the lush canyon of Kambos, the westernmost gorge of Crete.
At a forgotten area of the region Selino in South Chania, you will meet the well hidden gorge of Pelekaniotis River. It is the river with the most water flow in Selino and it is so important that the whole municipality of Paleochora is named Pelekanos. It has water all year round and forms a lush green valley at its exit, at Maherota location.
The lush canyon of Boriana (mainly known as Karanou Gorge) starts from the village Boriana and joins the River Mavropiliotis after 1800 meters in a nicely landscaped trail. Along the trail we meet a ruined watermill, caves, entrances of the old iron ore quarries (known locally as quarries of Averof), a charcoal furnace and galleries.
The gorge of Eligia is wild, long and impressive. The trail to reach the gorge's bed starts in Agios Ioannis village in Sfakia (780m altitude, 92km from Chania). After hiking for 3.5 hours in the gorge ou reach Agios Pavlos beach, which is full of pine trees, and then you need 1 more hour to the west to reach Agia Roumeli.
The proposed trekking route in the canyon starts from Niato Plateau (near Askifou Plateau) and runs along the European trail E4. You initially meet the abandoned village of Kali Lakki. From here starts the canyon, which is one of the greenest gorges in Crete, with incredibly interesting flora. Oaks, cypresses, and pines are the main trees in Sfakiano Gorge.