Nida - Vouloumenou (Kreta / Crete)
Starting point: Nida (1375 m)
| Latitude/Longitude: | 35,20687°N 24,83502°E |
| |
Walking time: 3 h 30 min
Difficulty: easy marked way, easy pathless terrain
Elevation gain: 892 m
Elevation difference along the route: 1050 m
Map: Anavasi 11.14
Recommended equipment (summer):
Recommended equipment (winter):
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Access to starting point:
Nida plateau is the starting point. Drive from Heraklion to the settlement of Anogia and then to Nida plateau (which is already in Rethimno area). The road is paved.
Route description:
Park your car and walk to the start of the gravel road. There you will see signs that will direct you right to the path that soon crosses the road twice; afterward you will pass a church, Analipsi, and join the road again. After the road turn you will see two signs, one for Timios Stavros (highest peak in Psiloritis range and Crete island) and one for the cave.
Follow the sign for Timios Stavros until the road turns right, and join the trail. From this point on, the trail is marked with two red dots, and sometimes a yellow arrow. A well-marked trail crosses the slope while gaining altitude to the southwest, and later to the northwest, where you will find yourself in small mountain valleys surrounded by thorny vegetation. Follow these valleys west until the mountain saddle at 1920 meters of altitude. At this point, follow the descending trail southwest to about 100 meters lower altitude (It is also possible to go north. But that trail is poorly marked that way, and you will also lose the altitude later on).
In the continuation, the mountain valleys are somewhat bigger; the vegetation is still present. Your direction will begin to slowly change from west to the north. When that happens, cross the beautiful basin, and reach the saddle, where you can see Crete's highest peak Psiloritis or Timios Stavros.
From here, we no longer follow the main trail heading west toward Psiloritis, but instead turn east. In places, the trail is faint and less visible. Keep slightly left across the plateau-like terrain toward the summit, which is reached after 20 to 30 minutes of walking from the saddle.
Return via the described route, or take a circular route that also includes the 2209-meter-high Kousakas mountain, which is actually slightly shorter but steeper in sections.
Along the route: Analipsi (1413m)
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