Hiking

Kofinas can be reached with a short, but very steep and majestic trail, which starts near the church of Panagia in the northern foothills of the peak. The church can be reached via a dirt road starting from Kapetaniana or Sternes. The views over the top is excellent and walking in the trail is not recommended for those with fear of heights.

This part of the European E4 trail comes across the piney woods of Prina and Meseleri. It is entirely through dirt roads and it is an ideal option for cycling in Crete. Signing of the E4 (yellow -black marks) is quite adequate.

The part of the E4 trail that starts from Margarites and finishes at Houmeri is mostly along the main road connecting the villages of the area (Pigouniana, Orthes, Kalandare, Kalamas, Pasalites). The highlights of the route include the ceramic centre of Margarites village, the well preserved samples of the tradional house architecture and some important churches.

The branch of the European path E4 that descends from Kryoneritis heads northwards to meet the north E4 branch coming from Argiroupolis. This part of the route offers a nice stroll in lush green ravines and the ghost village of Nissi near Moudros and Kato Poros.

This part of the European trail connects Armeni to Arkadi, with its highlights being the Minoan Peak sanctuary of Vrissinas, the valley of Potami dam and Prasses gorge and finally the historical monastery of Arkadi. Due to being quite long, the route an be divided in two parts, from Armeni to Prasses and from Prasses to Arkadi.

This part of the E4 European Long Distance trail connects Nida plateau to the the church of Agios Ioannis in the core of Rouvas Wood. It offers amazing views to the largest oak wood in Crete and is usually combined with the descending the amazing gorge of Gafaris, also a E4 part, which is the most important canyon in Heraklion prefecture.

A very demanding trail due to very high slope is the old mule track that once linked the picturesque harbor of Loutro with the town of Anopolis. It can, however, be much easier if you start from Anopolis and go down to Loutro. In any case the panoramic view to the sea and to Loutro is breathtaking.

This trail starts from Agouseliana, comes north of the villages Katsogrida and Atsipades, passes through Koxare, meets the upper entrance of Kourtaliotiko Gorge, crosses Mixorouma and Dariviana, and stops at Spili. It is very easy, as it is mostly on paved and unpaved roads.