Product Description

With an agreeable climate, an amazing landscape and a history stretching back to the start of civilisation, Crete, with its proud but friendly people, makes an outstanding destination. Rising to 2453 metres, the White Mountains are the jewel of Crete's six mountain ranges. The guide comprises extensive walking and trekking from the five main trekking centres which are Omalos, Askyfou, Anopolis, northern foothills and the south coast. There are forty-nine walks ranging from spectacular gorge walks and coastal walks to strenuous ascents of the main peaks. Six mountain ranges make up the backbone of the island, but quite the best is the Lefka Ori, or White Mountains, where several peaks rise to over 2100m (7000ft). Five good walking centres that are connected one with the other by bus or boat are also easily reached by bus from Chania. All are within 2 hours' journey of the airport.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #227387 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author
In 1979, after returning from a spell in the early Dubai building boom, Loraine Wilson swapped life as an Architectural assistant for trek leading, mainly in the mountains of Greece. A lifelong hill walker and backpacker, she has been walking the Cretan mountains since 1983. In 1995 a course in Heritage Management alerted her to the necessity of encouraging recreational use of the countryside. It was in the hope of making a useful contribution that this book was written. Formerly London-based, Loraine now lives in Cumbria.

Customer Reviews

A useful book but some walks lack necessary detail.
Crete is not yet an all year round holiday resort but many spring and late summer visitors are taking advantage of warm weather to take to the hills. Walking in the peak summer months can be difficult because of high temperatures and lack of water in high places. This book by Lorraine Wilson is a useful addition to the handful of guidebooks devoted to walking in Crete. However, the book has its drawbacks. Certain walks lack sufficient detailed route description. I had to return to one walk three times before I got it right because vital details had not been included - not through my own stupidity, I might add. With a detail map I could have solved this problem immediately, but due to the paranoia of the Greek government these are not available. I think that the author should have opted for fewer walks and more detailed descriptions.

Best walking guide available for the White Mountains
If you want to visit West Crete and are into hiking, this book is a must. West Crete is dominated by the White Mountains, or 'Lefka Ori' in Greek. Locally they are referred to as 'Madares'. The massif is split by over 50 gorges and reaches 2453 metres at the top of Pachnes. So, a very tempting environment to explore.

This book is filled with 49 detailed walk desciptions and an extra 10 mountain treks. Some walks are well known, but if you prefer to go off the beaten track it's all here. All walks are summarised, so it's easy to pick the one that suits you best. All walks are graded too. The walks that are 'possible', but are really dangerous and only for the real mountaineers are luckily left out. Some route maps and beautiful pics complete this masterpiece, one of its kind. A detailed and hard to get overview map only lacks, but that's due to the Greek government, not to the writer.